From Korea With Love
by samnwilson
Summary: KPOP Fanfic Sehun X OC, Chen X OC
1. Chapter 1

_**From Korea With Love**_

* * *

 ** _Dedicated to you._**

 ** _You know who you are. ;)_**

 _Thank you for being my muse a_ _nd my greatest source of confidence._

 _None of this would have_ _been possible without you._

 _I hope you enjoy this._

 ** _Saranghae_**

* * *

 _For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands._ **– Christina Rossetti**

 **Samantha**

 _ **The job they say comes first, above all things.**_ _And it's a phrase they use as a scapegoat to justify just about every type evil type of act imaginable._ Right now was absolutely not an exception. CIA Special Agent Samantha Wilson, a veteran field agent (a spy if you like) and exceptional tech nerd, sat across from her handler with a murderous scowl.

 _All of this is in the name of the greater good - in the name of fucking patriotism. Well isn't patriotism about protecting your citizens?!_ Adrian Fitz, a tall, dark, bear of a man folded his arms over his large chest with a matching glare. He didn't want to be stuck in this interrogation room giving the third degree to – and he would never admit it out loud – one of his favorite agents to work alongside. She knew that; after being stuck in there for several hours, tempers where naturally starting to flare. Plus their blatant lack of a solid lead wasn't helping things.

Sam flipped a large strand of red hair over her shoulder and leaned forward on the table. Her hazel eyes blazed with intensity. "That's really all we have on this? There has to be more. Check the interview tapes again!"

"There's nothing to check, Wilson! We've been through this three times already. Dammit, you've seen them all at least a dozen times _yourself!_ **"** Fitz put both hands on the table and leaned in to look her in the eye.

He would never admit this either but that look she gave scared the crap out of him. He of course wouldn't let it show because he knew that she would exploit it somehow. It was one of many reasons she was excellent with her work, not to boast. Sam admired his courage too, when he didn't back down to her.

She still could not fathom it, could not except it. How could someone just be completely gone? _Poof!_ They all disappeared right into thin air like a bunch of apparitions. It just didn't make _any_ sense. People do not just exist one fucking second and then completely vanish the next along with every form of documentation that helped to make who they were possible.

Her twin sibling, Kristen Wilson, a high profile lawyer and activist, had pulled a Houdini after being a contestant on a popular dating show called _Soul Mate Serenade._ The show was every bit as cheesy as one could imagine. She wasn't the only one either; over 50 countries reported people going missing after they left the competition. Everything from their birth certificates to their bank statements had gone up in a puff of smoke right along with them.

Maybe it was just the way he had phrased telling she and her younger sister - CIA Special Agent Jessica Wilson, a junior field agent, spitfire, and prodigal tactician - the news but Sam swore this all had to be a dream. They couldn't just be fucking _stuck_. Kristen needed her sisters to find her; her life depended on them finding her.

"Listen to me, there is nothing left to review. We need a new strategy." Fitz was trying to remain patience but Sam saw a bit of sadness in his eyes as well. He had been her handler for the past three years and Jess's handler for almost a year and a half. Sam trusted him with her and her sister's lives every day. To Sam he had been a mentor and a friend. She valued his opinion, and they stood now after many years, as equals.

Being grilled over information that neither she nor Jess could provide was beyond frustrating for both the eldest and her handler. They were just going in circles but at the same time, Fitz was just trying to do his job. Sam could never fault him because she chose duty over many things. In the espionage business, that attitude came with the territory or else it meant your life.

"Did you hear me, Wilson?" Fitz rested his chin against his now overlapping hands. "What can you tell me that we haven't already thought to use? Anything either of you can come up with, obscure or otherwise, could be the key."

He directed his dark eyes to Jess this time - whom had been staring at her hands, since he had told them that the trail had gone cold. She didn't meet his gaze and remained silent. Unusual for her, Jess always had a quip for Fitz. Fitz gave Jess a hard time due to her novice status, something that irked Jess like nothing else. And she was very vocal about it often.

Sam looked over at her youngest and had the strong urge to comfort her, to do something – anything – to snap her out of it. She was taking everything with Kristen particularly hard. They had recently become especially close in the last couple of years. Kristen became aware of Jess's mortality when she announced her new occupation as a field agent and wanted to make sure they were never on bad terms.

She knew that if she tried to console her, Jess would just pull away from her angrily, unwilling to show weakness in front of Fitz or anyone they worked alongside. Jess knew like Sam knew that being a spy was dangerous work and sometimes that meant that sentimentality had to be pushed aside. Reluctantly, she ignored the feeling.

Focusing on Fitz, "We've told you everything, I swear. Kristen was fine up until two weeks before her disappearance." Sam shifted in her chair, rested both elbows on the table, and put both of her hands together with her fingers intertwined. "She was in perfect health. She told us she had entered to be a contestant on that absurd game show and had gotten in. After the show, it was like all of the energy had been zapped out of her.

She stopped talking to everyone, stopped going to work, stopped doing the things she loved….She just floated around her house like a phantom without a purpose. I tried to talk to her, to help her – we both tried – but she acted if she didn't know either of us or that we were even in the room. I've never seen someone…in such a state of absolute despair."

As she spoke, Sam bit back hot tears that threatened to spill over and tarnish her iron façade. Listening to herself speak of her sibling in such a way was past the point of difficult. Jess suddenly looked up from her hands and added, "Kristen wouldn't leave without telling anyone where she was going, least of all the two of us. It's just too out of character." Sam breathed a silent sigh of relief to hear Jess finally speak.

"So you've mentioned, special agent. And that being said, doesn't it warrant that her disappearance cannot be measured as ordinary? Look outside of the box here, ladies. Think!"

Sam went to haughtily retort but the sound of Jess's hands slamming down on the table interrupted her, "Now _you_ listen, goddammit! We've been over all of this a hundred times! We've searched – _physically searched_ – everywhere for her and still nothing. _Not a fucking thing!_ All of her records, her whole life, _her_ – gone in an instant. It makes zero sense _any way_ you look at it and you want us to magically come up with _the freaking key_?!"

Jess started to become red in the face. "Why aren't you out there back tracing to find the fuck that broke hundreds of firewalls to erase my sister's identity? Why aren't you questioning those hack game show pieces of shit? There is no way that it wasn't them that did this! Why aren't you doing something useful, Fitz, instead of keeping us in this stuffy little room to ask us pointless questions that you already know the fucking answer to!?"

The room was quiet for a while with the exception of Jess's heavy breathing. Sam surmised that she hadn't taken a breath through all of that. With that Sam reached up and placed a hand on Jess's shoulder to sit her back down. Jess nonchalantly shrugged her eldest's hand off but sat down regardless. Jess never broke eye contact with Fitz.

 **Jessica**

 **Fuck what he thought and fuck what any else had to say on the subject.** Fitz was an ass and his insinuation that she and Sam hadn't already been over everything with a fine toothcomb was absolutely insulting. They busted their asses for two months trying to find Kristen. Neither had slept or eaten properly during that time either and it was starting to show. Her tolerance for bullshit was officially _below zero_.

She did feel bad for pushing Sam away like that, because after all, her eldest was suffering just as much as her. She would apologize later and surely Sam would understand. She was understanding about most things or at the very least tried hard to be that type of person.

Fitz was glaring at Jess for what seemed like an eternity. He cleared his throat, "Well, if you're finished with your little outburst, special agent, I will be happy to inform you that we have in fact tried to back trace and have hit nothing but dead ends. The interview tapes – _as I've said_ – have been reviewed numerous times and any data we found on them has taken us nowhere but in circles. Those hack game show people are _clean_. SQUEAKY. FUCKING. CLEAN."

She wanted to say something else but her words escaped her. All of this had been like a punch to the gut. Kristen has gone and there wasn't anything she could do to help her now. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she had almost given up on the hope that the two of them would find her alive or even find her at all. Sam tried to keep her going but it wasn't enough, though she did her best to smile and push forward anyway.

And here Fitz sat, making everything more difficult for her as per usual. He didn't get it. Sure he was like family to Sam, but that didn't mean he could understand what the bond between the three of them meant, how fucking important the trio's relationship was to all of them. Honestly she just wanted to punch him square in the nose. Protocol, Sam, and her better judgment kept her from feeling the satisfaction of her fist hitting his face.

He was just wasting everyone's time with this shit, and Jess thought maybe it was because he just didn't care. They were supposed to be hard-core, and cold-blooded but they were also human too. She was fully aware that he didn't approve of her, but if he really cared about Sam, why didn't he try to be a little more considerate of what they were going through?

Somehow it seemed he didn't understand that the situation was also dire. Kristen's life hung in the balance, so of course she was peeved about all of this. _Kristen and I barely gotten close before all of this. It just isn't fair…it isn't right! Why can't you just have a soul for once and tone down your bullshit?!_

"So then we're nowhere?" Sam's calm tone eased a bit of tension out of the room. "The entertainment company, behind the game show, is definitely the source of it all, no doubt in my mind." _Or mine._

"It's too coincidental," Jess looked to Sam. "It's too perfect that most likely suspect can't have anything traced back to them."

Sam placed a hand on her chin thoughtfully. The oldest sibling continued on Jess's thought, "She's right; it's too perfect to be realistic. It makes we wonder... If they are capable of scrubbing their own records clean, then they could also be capable of wiping someone else's from existence."

"We thought of that too. What can we build from that?" Fitz directed the question to Sam but Jess couldn't help herself.

"Well that right there gives us just cause to investigate them further. I say we infiltrate their innocent little competition and find our evidence. Let's catch them with their pants down. The top brass can't turn us down this time. You have to try and convince them again!" Fitz could have gotten angry – she expected nothing less – but to her surprise he just smirked at her.

"Alright, special agent, what else you got? They're gonna want to hear that we have a more definitive plan." Jess smirked back. _Challenge accepted motherfucker._

"Right, so the first thing you have to do is send a small team – probably three or four people in to gather intelligence on them. We survey everything and then get it all back here. Obviously, give them different roles and have them arrive with all of the other people on schedule but separate from one another. That way the three of them can get in and get out with little suspicion. All of us will leave the venue at different times as well. Get a techie and a couple of really good field agents on it and it's not only simple but totally effective _with the right people_."

"And I assumed you have people in mind? You think this is enough to convince our superiors that following this lead isn't a huge waste of resources?" Fitz just loves pushing her buttons.

"Yes, _I do_. Sam and I discussed this before you brought us in here. We have nowhere else to go with this and it could be weeks before we come up with any better of a reason to go after these bastards. All of those missing people don't have that kind of time. Make them listen!"

Fitz stared hard at Jess and then looked to her sister for confirmation that she felt the same about it. Sam silently nodded, a look of pride on her face.

He shrugged and let out a long sigh. "In any case, it's something to go on so why not?" _Are you serious? Ass._

Fitz noisily scooted his chair back and it hit the wall behind him as he stood. "Meet me in the main conference room on level 2 in an hour. Let's find out if we can't get the board to listen to our cause now."

Jess wanted to snag the last word before he departed, "Oh and I volunteer. There's _no way_ I'm not going to be one of those field agents."

A wide smiled spread across Sam's face next to her, "I also volunteer, Adrian. I'm the best " _techie"_ you have and this is way too important to both us for me to just let someone less qualified handle it."

Fitz own smile receded at her words, "Alright, ladies, I'll meet both of you in an hour. I have a lot to discuss with the board before we take this any further." And with that he exited the room. Sam and Jess both stood and Jess stuck out her tongue as he disappeared around the corner. Sam did her best to stifle a laugh. For some reason Sam found Jess's defiance amusing instead of annoying.

They both filed out of the room and as soon as Sam was in the hallway, Jess quickly embraced her. "I'm so sorry, Sam! That guy just gets on my nerves sometimes! He's so full of it." Her older sister hugged her back.

"I know, Jess, and it's ok." _I knew you'd forgive me!_ Sam paused and hugged her tighter, "We're finally gonna take those bastards down and get Kristen back."

Jess innocently asked, "And blow them the fuck up? Please say yes. I heard they've developed a new type of explosive powder down in geek pit. You like explosions!" Both of them started laughing. Jess tried to seem excited but fear threatened to bubble to the surface. She was so afraid that all of this could be in vain that it was hard for her to have genuine confidence. Somehow her eldest could sense this. Sam pulled back and placed a hand on each one of Jess's shoulders.

"We can do this, Jess."

"Naturally. Was there ever a doubt!?" Jess truly appreciated, in that moment, that she wasn't in this alone. And having her sister as her backup was even better.

 _Sibling power bitches._


	2. Chapter 2

_Almost everyone will make a good first impression, but only a few will make a good lasting impression._ **– Sonya Parker**

 **Samantha**

 **The angry voices belting into the hallway from the conference room suggested that meeting wasn't going well at all.** _At least Fitz is putting up a fight._ Sam chewed on the inside of her cheek as leaned against the wall next to the entrance. Jess was leaning on the opposite wall, staring so intensely at the wooden double doors that Sam thought her fiery gaze would burn holes through it.

That was something Sam loved about her little sister, though. She was still a junior agent but it was obvious that she was passionate about her work. That vigor drove her to be one of the best up and coming agents in the business at the moment. And her affinity for tactics and strategy was what really made her stand out. Combine all of those attributes with the knowledge that she was only five feet tall, rocked a black pixie cut, was just overall completely adorable, plus had a knack for hand-to hand combat and you have a lethal cocktail of cute and very dangerous. Many, including Fitz, tended to underestimate her at their peril.

Sam was so grateful that Jess was along for the ride on this one. Sam truthfully felt as though she couldn't do this without her. It wasn't like her previous missions in the slightest. This all was so deeply personal that it caused her otherwise cool disposition to falter. Jess would give her a sideways look if she knew Sam doubted herself and she would be right. Right now, Jess was the only influence keeping her grounded and having her here right now was a relief.

One of the doors finally opened and a disgruntled Fitz stepped past the threshold to motion for the two of them to come inside. The worried expression on his face sent alarm bells going in Sam's head. _This can't be good._

Jess was off the wall and through the door in seconds, pushing past Fitz with Sam close behind. Sam paused to question Fitz who just shook his head and again motioned for her to go inside. She studied his face for a minute and then continued after her sister.

The three of them were met by a large projection of the Secretary of Defense herself, Lillian Madora, a graying Latina woman with a stern face. She didn't look pleased in the slightest to see them. Sam swallowed hard. _Please tell me they didn't refuse us again._

"Agents Samantha and Jessica Wilson." The woman on the screen spoke in monotone, as if talking to them was the most boring thing she could imagine doing right now. "I am here to inform you that your _request_ has been approved by the board and by myself." _Oh thank god._

Sam watched as she scanned the two of them. Her expression suggested she wasn't impressed. _She must have being arguing with Fitz about the risks in sending us on the mission. Looks like she lost the fight. I knew you'd come through for us, old friend._

Sam understood that allowing them to go on such a critical mission, keeping in mind their deeply personal ties, made its success seem less likely. They were a flight risk and the board hated to be anything but overly cautious. The woman on the screen could scowl and doubt them all she wanted but the two of them knew the stakes. Kristen wasn't the only one in danger.

Secretary Madora had to empathize with their desperation to some degree. If she knew anything about them, she would recognize that their despondency would be a motivator more so than a hindrance. Sam had faith in few things and the capabilities of she and Jess to do their jobs properly was definitely something she believed in wholeheartedly.

"Madame Secretary," Sam saluted. Jess followed suit but stayed silent in the presence of such a powerful woman. Sam felt intimidated as well. Secretary Madora had a standing as a hard ass and that reputation preceded her greatly.

Madora acknowledged their sign of respect but her expression and tone remained the same, "I'll make this brief. The importance of the success of this mission cannot be overstated. I'm not entirely sure and neither is the board that it is wise to have either of you participating."

She paused momentarily and then added, "That being said, the two of you are unmistakably more than qualified to handle it on the surface. We are putting more than faith in your ability to stay focused and finished the mission without becoming distracted. I trust you both realize what that means?"

Both women nodded seriously. Cooperating was the only way they could convince The Secretary's confidence in them was not misguided. "We understand fully, Madame Secretary. Our concentration as always is on the success of the operation." _And on saving my sister obviously._

Sam thought she saw Madora's face relax but it was probably just a trick of the light. "I see." The Secretary took a deep, annoyed breath and got right to business, "As you are both aware, the disappearance of your sister, Kristen Wilson, as well as the disappearances of many others on an international scale has become a primary concern of both the UN and every effected country. Eradication of each missing person's personal records is, obviously, cause for alarm. It has global leaders not only scratching their heads but pointing fingers at one another."

Fitz chimed in, "That makes this an extremely sensitive mission. It could mean the difference between a stable world and all out war."

Sam and Jess exchanged quick, worried glances before turning their attention back to Madora. "Which is why it is imperative that this be a success. Fitz will brief you in more detail at the conclusion of our meeting. The long and short of it, however, is that the two of you will be part of a small team of agents charged with acquiring the necessary proof that the entertainment company, VizuCOM, is responsible for this mess. We must have definitive evidence to prove that they are not only kidnapping people but also hacking into international databases to seemingly erase people from existence."

"Your top priority _always_ is to obtain and bring back the intelligence." Fitz looked hard at Sam and Jess as he spoke. "Neither of you is new to this concept, so I don't think I need to explain protocol."

"Of course. Nothing will get in the way of us completing out objective." The way Sam looked at Fitz when she spoke was nothing short of very severe. She meant what she said, and Fitz knew better than to have reservations on her words and thus backed off with a small smile.

"One important caveat before I sign off. The show's next filming will be on foreign soil – South Korea to be more specific. The Korean government insists on being part of the operation, so they will be sending in an intelligence agent to recover data for both sides. We will gather our own information, but supposedly this agent has the means to get the critical intel we need. Korean military leaders are strongly vouching for his supposed skill and we aren't in a position to argue. He will go disguised as a contestant on the show and be in contact with you after the first hour."

 _It sounds sort of suspicious to me but then again everything about our work is sketchy in general._ "Be on the lookout for him." Before she saluted and cut off the feed Madora added, "See to it that this all goes over well, agents. Global peace _depends_ on it."

After the screen went dark, Fitz handed Sam a manila folder, "Your contact's name is Oh Sehun. As Secretary Madora explained he is an intelligence agent. Mr. Oh is apparently a very capable individual, so hopefully, that means working with him will not be too much of a hassle."

Sam opened the folder and began reading over its contents, while Jess peaked at the information next to her. Jess's face lit up immediately upon seeing their contact's picture. "Oh! At least he's hot!" The youngest exclaimed a little too excitedly. Sam just grinned.

"Focus, special agent." Jess made a face at Fitz and then went back to looking over the file or rather over Mr. Oh's face. From the way she beamed and blushed at picture of him, Sam gathered Jess was smitten. _So much for focus._

Fitz grumbled something and then stated, "Samantha, you will go as a member of the kitchen staff and Jessica will go as a contestant. Agent Alessio Greco will accompany you as a security guard."

"Agent Greco!?" Sam looked at Fitz with wide eyes. Her face lost some of its color.

"Yes, Wilson, Greco. He's a seasoned field agent, and we could use his expertise. Will that be a problem?" Fitz raised an eyebrow.

"No…of course not." Sam pretended to be more interested in the folder in her hands but her mind went elsewhere. She and Greco had history. Years ago they had been assigned the same mission in Prague, something Sam tried desperately to forget.

It seemed like a cruel joke that after all of their time apart, Greco would show up to _assist_ them on a mission that meant everything to her. There had to be more to it, but Sam didn't press her handler for more information. She was far too lost in her own memories, so much so that she almost didn't hear the next thing Fitz said.

"Good. Now, you will go in separately and monitor the situation for the first hour. Note anything that seems significant. Afterwards, Mr. Oh will meet with you and hand you a flash drive containing the precious intel we need to prove VizuCOM guilty. Samantha will exit the building with the drive and head to the west parking lot where a black van will be waiting for you."

"Greco will ensure that all of the security cameras on your designated route will be out of commission long enough for you to get there. After you have made it there, radio your teammates. Greco will meet Jessica at the north most exit from the main dining hall. Jessica, you will follow Greco out and be picked up by a separate van. Do either of you have any questions?"

Jess spoke first, "Just one. What happens to our contact?" Sam noted the serious expression on her sister's face and was genuinely surprised. _She doesn't even know this guy…Maybe she's just being thoughtful?_ Somehow Sam thought that her motivation was rooted in something else besides professional concern.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say. As far as I am aware he has his own orders, so don't bother with worrying about him. Stick to the plan. _Both_ of you." He looked right at Jess.

"Yessir." Sam and Jess both responded but Jess did so with a mocking tone that Fitz ignored. Sam silently wondered if the two of them would ever see eye to eye. On the outside it didn't seem likely but that's what she used to think about her relationship with Fitz when she was a rookie too. Fitz wasn't a bad guy but maybe he overdid it a tad with the "tough love".

"Alright, ladies, pack your bags. Your plane leaves in a few hours."

* * *

Jess opened the door to their hotel room and collapsed on the bed with a huff. "God, I'm so fucking _tired_. That was one hell of a plane ride." She wasn't wrong either. South Korea was in a completely opposite time zone, and considering that trip took something like fourteen hours, both woman were feeling acutely jet-lagged.

"I told you that you should have slept more on the plane." Sam threw her carry-on bag next to a nightstand and began taking off her coat and boots. It was mid-winter in Korea, the temperature outside hitting a _brisk_ forty-three degrees. Even so, Sam was sweating a little. Her mind had been on nothing but Greco and Prague the whole way over.

Greco hadn't been assigned to their flight for whatever reason, and they didn't see him at the airport either. There was a small, short-lived feeling on relief in not seeing him. At the same time, the anxiety of working with him again was becoming overwhelming. She didn't let it show though she suspected that Jess could see it regardless.

"Thanks Mom," Jess groaned into one of the pillows. "How long do we have before the cars come to pick us up?"

"About an hour for my car and two or three hours for your car. Plenty of time for a quick cat nap." Sam winked at her sister. Maybe she babied her sibling a bit too much but she couldn't help herself.

"Awesome! Wake me up when you're done in the bathroom." And with that Jess rolled and pulled the covers over her head. She kicked off her shoes and tucked one leg under the blanket before eventually passing out.

Sam laughed as she closed the door to the bathroom. Once she was alone in the tiny space, her smile receded as she leaned over the sink. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face and neck.

She let out a long sigh. _I've got to get a hold of myself. This mission is too important to be getting flustered over something that may or may not turn out to be nothing. Maybe it is just a coincidence that he's involved…_ Sam stared blankly at her reflection. _My gut tells me otherwise, but I can't let myself get preoccupied with him right now. Jess, Kristen…fucking everyone is counting on me to be levelheaded…._

It had been four years since _that night_ , since her escapades in Prague. _It was winter then too._ Sam rubbed her temples. _Honestly, he's probably forgotten all about it. Shit, I know I haven't thought about it_ _ **or him**_ _in all of those years, so why would he care to remember?_

Obviously what had happened between the two of them (and there did used to be a them) hadn't mint a whole lot to either. Once it was all said and done, they never spoke of it again. They never spoke at all after that in fact, something for which she was grateful.

Even though the feelings were starting to come back full force, Sam opted to ignore them and switch gears to her current circumstances. _It's nothing, Sam. Just leave it alone…at least for now._

She sighed once more and turned away from the mirror. She climbed in the shower and cranked the hot water all the way up. The sting was both a comfort and a means of distraction. It's allowed her to free her mind long enough to get in the right mindset for the mission.

The diversion work…mostly.


	3. Chapter 3

_I believe very strongly that when it comes to desire, when it comes to attraction, that things are never black and white, things are very much shades of grey._ **– Brian Molko**

 **Jessica**

" **Jess, hey wake up! Time to get dressed for the big performance, darlin'."** The youngest's eyes were instantly open when Sam shook her shoulder, but her brain was slow to catch up with the rest of her body. The short nap had done little in the way of making her feel more rested.

Jess sat up in bed with her hair disheveled squinting at Sam as if she were tiny print. Sam stood back from the bed and tried (not so subtly) not to laugh at Jess's appearance. She turned on her heel and walked over to a long mirror to fix her hair in a high ponytail while chuckling softly.

Pulling the comforter off both stiffly and while enough force to send it onto the floor, Jess climbed out of bed and stretched with a yawn. She grunted as she leaned back to pop her spine.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Sam said sarcastically to Jess's reflection in the mirror. Jess groaned insolently at her eldest and reached over to grasp at the handle of her luggage. Walking sluggishly into the bathroom with her suitcase in tow, she shut the door audibly.

Jess wasted no time in getting ready. In thirty minutes she had showered, pulled on her evening attire (a lovely but simple, flared, black cocktail dress with a fitted waist), and had almost finished styling her hair. Normally she would take more time to do everything - especially considering whom she was meeting up with in a few hours - but they didn't have a whole lot of time. She wanted to iron over a few details of the mission before Sam had to leave too.

Jess chose to style her hair in a sophisticated but also uncomplicated fluffed –up side sweep that complimented her round face. She tugged on a pair of pantyhose (which she hated) and looked herself over in the mirror half a dozen times before exiting the bathroom. She went looking for the make-up bag, when she entered the bedroom and promptly noticed that Sam was helping herself to its contents at the mirror.

Jess watched her as she finished applying light mascara and looked over her should to ask, "Well how do I look?" She struck a pose.

Even though Sam had landed the less glamorous role of picking up silverware, she still looked lovely in her fancy uniform. She sported a red, long-sleeved silk blouse with a pair of khaki pants. Her pants really showed off her hips and made her bubble butt even more visible.

What was "worse" was that her red ponytail almost seemed to point to it. _There's no way anyone will be able to keep their eyes off of_ _ **that**_ _view. Not even trying to be jealous right now – I look damn good – but still._

Sam had other notable qualities besides her backside – computer wiz, wicked shot, down to drink four bottles of wine if you're having a shitty week, etc. She was a good agent, an even better sister, and a close friend. Jess's siblings kept her feeling grounded and level. Surely, she would float up into the stratosphere without her tethers.

"You look fine Sam. Adorable even."

"Adorable? Eh, I'll take what I can get with this get-up. Thanks though. I really just need to blend in-"

*knock, knock, knock*

They stopped, glanced at each other, and then stared back at the door. Sam moved in one fluid motion silently to the door to look through the peephole. Her sister's face went pale at what she saw. Jess cocked her head at the sudden change in expression and reached for her sidearm.

Sam shook her head at Jess when she pointed the gun at the door. "No, it's ok, put it down." Jess lowered her piece but kept her finger on the trigger.

Taking a deep breath, the eldest opened the door, stared silent daggers at whoever was there for an entire minute, and then stepped aside. The well-dressed man that entered the room was quite handsome with bronze skin and an angular, broad face. His nose was a bit large but his eyes were lovely and dark. He smirked when he saw Jess and then turned his attention to Sam.

By the way that Sam was giving the man the stink eye, Jess gathered that he must be Agent Greco. Jess knew little of their previous relationship – Sam refused to discuss what had transpired between them – but she knew enough about Sam's feelings about him to discern that she didn't care for him. Whatever had happened must have been of some significance because while Sam glared ominously, Greco smiled sweetly at her.

"You did not tell me that your sister was so beautiful, Samantha. It runs in the family?" He spoke in a thick, Italian accent. Sam rolled her eyes and shifted her weight sassily to one side.

"After four years, that's the first line you use? Ever the charmer, huh? I think I heard you use a similar line on about a dozen Czech girls." Sam looked past Greco nonchalantly, "Jess, meet Agent Alessio Greco." Jess nodded at him. She had to admit that watching them interact peeked her curiosity about their "mysterious" past.

"You always could see through my words." His ostensibly genuine smile grew larger. "A pleasure to meet the pretty sister of Agent Wilson as well." Jess blushed just a little. She could certainly see what Sam must have seen in him a few years ago.

"Uh-huh. So are you here to discuss business or what?" Sam wasn't even trying to hide the disdain in her voice.

He sighed, "Alas, to my great disappointment, this is not a personal visit." He opened one side of his coat and pulled out two earpieces. He handed one to Sam – who plucked it from his hand like he was handing her garbage – and handed the other to Jess as she finally put her weapon down.

"This is how we will keep in touch. Clear and comfortable, these mics are almost invisible to the naked eye. Press the tiny button here – he pointed – to transmit your voice to all linked mics. Double tap to only transmit to the closest mics – within a hundred yards. And press it again to cut off the transmission."

Jess and Sam placed the devices in their ears. "Wow it's like it's not even there! Nice." Technology could be amazing sometimes. One of the perks of being a spy was all of the cool gadgets you got to use.

Greco flashed Jess a smile, "Yes, they are quite amazing. But moving on, I assumed both of you have been briefed on everything?" Greco looked between the two women for confirmation.

Sam answered, "We've been over it _extensively_. Now if we're done here, I have a car to catch." _Damn, cold. Can't get away from him fast enough, huh, Sam?_

He seemed hurt by her words, "Of course. No time to catch up. In that case I wish both of you the best of luck. I will radio you when your black chariot arrives…moje laska." Sam's expression softened quickly and she looked distraught. _What_ _the hell does that mean?_ He bowed to both of them and was gone in an instant.

When he was gone Jess asked, "Is that guy _for real?_ " Jess strapped her gun to her hip under her skirt.

Sam let out an elongated lungful of air. _Were you even breathing while he was here?_ "Yeah, that's Alessio…."

"Wow, you…really don't like him…" Jess felt slightly uncomfortable with inquiring further but she was too curious not to ask, "What does "moje laska" mean?"

Sam had become abruptly interested in the tops of her shoes. "It's Czech…It…it means "my love".

* * *

Sam made sure to compliment Jess on how stunning she looked before she too departed and joked that she could probably pick up a number or two effortlessly. Jess was glad that Sam was attempting to be upbeat and casual with her, but the eldest's true feelings were written all over her face. Sam never could hide how she felt very well.

Jess made effort to not press her sister any more on subject. Sam would probably reveal the whole lot to her in due time anyway. All three siblings had that kind of bond with each other: they talked about pretty much everything. Thinking about that got her thinking about Kristen.

The great dining room of the convention center where the show was being filmed was filled to the brim with a host of various types of people. One thing the show had going for it was its diversity. There was no shortage of beautiful individuals all around her. _Kristen, you would love the scenery. I wish you here…._

A small laugh from the pretty woman Jess was speaking with snapped her back to reality. She smiled courteously, acting as if she were paying attention for the camera that was invasively close to their faces. Thankfully she didn't have to keep it up for long. A announcer came over the intercom and announced that the next intermission was begging. _About fucking time._

Jess politely bid adieu to the lady. However briefly they spoke, Jess was glad to be paired with her. It had been a nice distraction from everything, but she needed to get back to the job.

Making her way away from the table, she grabbed a water bottle from an adjacent table and walked over to a more secluded section of the hall. It had been over an hour and she wanted to check in with Sam. Jess wondered if her eldest had run into their sexy contact yet…

Butterflies flitted through her stomach when she thought of him. She was surprised but also not at all surprised. From the moment she laid eyes on his picture, she was dumbstruck by his handsome face. She absentmindedly pulled the hem of her skirt down further.

 _Get a grip girl._ Sitting down at a random empty table, she glanced over her immediate vicinity. The people were few and far between here, only filing up a few tables nearby but thankfully out of earshot. She took a giant gulp of water as she observed them. For some reason her throat felt really dry.

Behind her, a table of joyously loud contestants carried on a conversation in Mandarin. Just off to her left, a man with the most charming of smiles was winning the heart of the woman he was speaking with in inaudible whispers and giggles. _Good, no one's looking._

Jess went to make it look like she was fiddling with her earring as she pressed the small button of her earpiece. She double-tapped it so only Sam would hear her, "So how's the table-busting business?"

Sam responded, "Oh you know, _thrilling_. I've never seen so many dirty spoons in my life."

Jess slouched in her chair and crossed her legs. A run had started in the left leg of her pantyhose. "So…any sign of our mysterious contact yet?"

"No, I've been all over this room and the kitchens but I haven't spotted him yet. You?"

"No sign of him either." She felt a tad disappointed. "Maybe he's waiting to make some sort of _grand entrance_ where he sweeps one of us off of our feet. Always happens in those cheesy spy movies."

Sam chuckled, "Well, we aren't in a movie, James Bond. Why, were you hoping it was gonna be you?" Jess blushed a deep red and was suddenly glad an entire room separated them.

"No! That's totally unprofessional, Sam," she rebuked, feigning ignorance to the accusation.

"Oh really? So when you mumbled about how beautiful he was in your sleep today, that was _nothin_ g?" Jess's blush intensified.

"What?! You made that up! And anyway, even if I did find him _extremely attractive,_ I would never try to get involved with him. The hot ones are always trouble."

Jess was so distracted with Sam trying to hide her laughter that she didn't notice the table behind her had gone quiet. The air around her changed too, slowly. A space close to her became abruptly occupied and almost immediately _THAT_ caught her attention.

Sam started to say something else to her, but she couldn't focus on her sister's voice anymore. The presence behind her had her full attention. She did her best to make it appear as though she didn't detect it, but when she felt hot air lightly brush the back of her neck she sat up straighter.

"So you think I'm _hot_ , hmm? You're not bad looking yourself…Agent Wilson." The voice accompanying the words was smooth and sensual. Her chest tightened and her breathing hitched. She dared to peer over her shoulder and tried so very hard to appear calm as she met the gaze of the person behind her. However, one look into the eyes of Oh Sehun and her insides went to mush.

 _Oh..oh my god..shit-fucking fuck, he's even better looking in person!_ The blush from earlier felt like the temperature of it had been cranked over to the _HELL_ setting. And she was helpless to stop it.

Sehun's long, elegantly shaped face came around to a perfectly rounded point with alluring eyes that were so mesmerizing that she decided she would be shocked if every girl he looked at didn't melt in seconds. His full lips pulled into a devious grin that could make an ice cube in Antarctica sweat bullets. A backswept black haircut with slightly buzzed sides complimented all it flawlessly. _I didn't know someone could be this fucking ATTRACTIVE! FUCK._

He bent his significantly tall, lean, and well-dressed body closer to her, waiting for her to say something back to him with a cocky look in his eyes. And that made all of it official. He was, by far, the _sexiest_ man she had ever seen.

 _And oh yes…definitely_ _ **trouble.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us._ **– Ashley Montagu**

 **Samantha**

" **Jess? Jess, are you there? Come in!"** The quiet that held the other end of the mic was alarming. "Jess? _Hello?!"_ More silence followed and then Sam heard a faint snicker. _Is someone else there?_

"Jess, what in the hell is going on?"

She heard her youngest utter a few unintelligible noises and then came she shouted, "Yes! Yes, I'm here! Sorry…." Jess swallowed hard, "I, uh, just met our contact…Mr. Oh is here with our, um, information…" _And he has obviously sidetracked you._

Sam shook her head, "Ah, that explains the silence. Tell him to wait there. I'm on my way to you."

"Um, ok….We're on the opposite side of this big ass room near the main kitchen…" Another small laugh came from the man who could only be Mr. Oh in the flesh. The nervousness in her sister's tone was as unmistakable. Sam decided it was best if she hurried to them.

To maintain her cover Sam made the effort to stop at a few tables with her dish bin. She had forgotten what it was like to work a job like this. Concluding that she could never be jealous of the actual staff members, she placed a particularly disgusting set of bowls in the container. On the other hand, she would never covet being in her current situation if she were any of them and was aware that a government agent was hiding amongst their ranks.

Sam stopped at one last table to retrieve a stack of dirty plates and cups. As she collected them, she became conscious of a couple far off to her right whispering to each other. She couldn't see the man's face but the cute woman looked absolutely thrilled to be conversing with him so Sam thought he must be attractive as well. Or at the very least the man had to be ridiculously charismatic. The woman grinned and giggled endlessly. _Must be nice to be that carefree right now._

Sam didn't covet the role she was forced to endure, but she was envious of that sight. _How lucky you are…._ She heard the lady chuckle once more and then suddenly stop as she noticed the eldest watching them. The woman made a sour face and then nodded in Sam's direction. _Shit! Stared too long. Oh hell, that sounds creepy…._

Quickly going back to the dishes, Sam ducked her head to avoid their gaze. As the last plate went in the bin, she scurried away embarrassed. _Jesus, that was so lame of me._

Seeing Jess after that was a breath of fresh air. From the look on Jess's face when she saw her sister approaching, she felt the same. The man sitting next to her – _right next to her_ – watched Sam like a hawk as she got closer to them. _That must be him._ Taking note of his unmistakable handsomeness: _Ah, wow, I think I get why she was getting so flustered now. Mr. Oh in person is way better looking than his picture suggests._

The dish bin hit their tabletop with a *thud* that was a little louder than Sam intended but she just shrugged it off. Damn thing was starting to get heavy anyway. Sehun didn't give Sam a chance to speak first.

"Uh, can we help you with something?" He asked in a holier-than-thou tone of voice.

Taken aback, "Yeah…I'm here to see a man about a flash drive." Sam placed both hands on the table and looked him in the eye, unappreciative of his cheekiness. "I assume that's you?"

His eyes widened and then swiftly went back to being critical. "Sorry, _other_ Agent Wilson, I didn't recognize you. I thought you'd be," he looked her up and down, "a contestant."

Jess's turned her red face to glare at him. Sam retorted, "I guess we weren't all fortunate enough to get to wear a tux to the party. That however doesn't mean I don't still need you to give me the drive, Mr. Oh." Sam was trying to be patient but his look of superiority was irritating as fuck. "So how about you hand it over?" _I'm in no mood for this shit._ She was still reeling from her previous embarrassment.

"Ah, but that outfit doesn't make you seem _qualified._ " Sehun stated with a smirk. _Whatever games you been playing with my sister will not work on_ _ **me.**_ _That I can assure you._

Jess groaned and put her face in her hands. Sam exhaled noisily, "We're in the business of deception, Mr. Oh. You can be certain that my non-assuming appearance is tactical advantage. Besides that, no one in our bureau _but me_ has the necessary skills to un-code the information you've just recovered. And you have orders, so how about you just cut the crap? Do what you're told and give the damned thing up." Sam stood up tall, held out her palm, and derisively added, "It's in good hands."

Sehun was quiet as he processed her response while Jess looked up to sneer at him triumphantly. _She must have been having some serious trouble dealing with him up until now._ He closed his eyes briefly and then took in a big gulf of air as produced the drive from his pocket. The drive slid across the table and Sam snatched it up and promptly shoved it her own pocket. No one nearby had time to observed the transaction.

"Nice to have met you, Mr. Oh, but I must be going." Sam bowed courteously and picked up the hefty bin. She spoke directly to Jess then– who looked distraught that she was leaving – and said, "Stay here until you get the call, and then find Greco in the auxiliary kitchen on this floor. See you on the outside. Be safe."

Jess choked, "Good luck…." And with that Sam left the two alone and headed to the main kitchen. The eldest honestly felt bad about leaving her sister to deal with such an obnoxious man but she figured that somehow Jess would be ok. The youngest had a tough skin and could handle herself well, so one annoying guy shouldn't be too much trouble. _I hope._

More people began filling the tables as Sam passed them. Most of them were full when she reached the swinging doors, all except for one. One table was missing a previous occupant, but Sam didn't have time to note the change. Her mind only pushed her body forward.

* * *

Sam ridded herself of the dish bin and moved hastily through a crowd of chefs and servers prepping for the next segment of the show. She exited the kitchen and entered into a service hallway thankfully void of surveillance. Radioing Greco, "I have finished my shift. Headed home." The code indicated that it was time for him to shut down the camera feeds.

At the far end of the hallway a set of stairs led down to the sub level of the convention center. Sam strode over to the stairs gradually, waiting for the signal that she was in the clear before descending.

Greco's husky voice replied, "You're free to go." Sam carefully walked down the stairs and turned a corner before coming to a door that lead to the maintenance hallways. They stretched from one end of the building to the other, giving her a perfect, mostly unattended route to the parking lot were her ride waited for her.

She made sure to walk as speedily as possible. Sam wanted to relieve her sister as quickly as possible of Mr. Oh, and Jess would most definitely appreciate that. Poor thing had been so infatuated with his good looks that she must have been disappointed with his less than favorable demeanor upon meeting him.

The passage in front of Sam seemed to go on forever. With only the sounds of her footsteps to break the silence, Sam's mind began to wander. Unfortunately her thoughts focused on the one person she was trying to avoid thinking about.

So far Greco had been generally indifferent about seeing her again, but the look on his face as he left the hotel room before haunted her. _Was that sad look in your eyes genuine? Were you really disappointed that I wasn't as over the moon about reuniting you as you were about meeting me again?_

She and Greco had been lovers once upon a time. It seemed so strange now that they were merely colleagues. Having him along on this mission was not only awkward but nerve racking. She hated how much his presence was throwing her off.

Out of nowhere, a set of footstep behind her matched her steps. Sam halted immediately and turned to look over her shoulder, her left hand reaching for her sidearm. She found the passage just as empty as she had left it. _What in the hell was that?_

Sam turned back around slowly and then almost sprinted to a break in the hall in front of her. She disappeared around the corner and put her back against the wall. The footsteps started again and were coming closer to her. _What the fuck, is someone following me?! I was sure that no one saw me come down here…._

She raised her weapon to her chest and prepared herself to get the jump on her stalker. As she inhaled, Sam's muscles tightened and her heart sped up. Unexpectedly the footstep stopped at the edge of the hallway. Sam heard the *click* of a safety slide back and she gulped. _Now or never!_

Sam rounded the corner, her gun leading the way. The barrel of another gun and a man - who momentarily caused her concentration to waiver - met her. The man in question was striking to behold to say the least.

He had a beautifully angled face with a broad chin and amazingly prominent cheekbones. His shadowy eyes were fixed on her underneath an upwardly side swept reddish-brown hairstyle that flattered his appealing features. The man's cat-like lips parted slightly as if he were going to say something to her. However, he just stared as hard at her as she was staring at him. Sam's heart began to beat even faster as she discerned that she had never seen a more stunning-looking man in her life.

"Who-" Sam was cut off by the sudden sound of alarms and the flashing of red lights overhead. The man blinked a few times and then lowered his weapon and grunted, annoyed. Still holding up her gun, Sam gave him a confused look. Before she could try and ask him who he was again, the pounding of heavy boots on the concrete floor behind the mysterious man caught her attention.

The man looked behind him as a crowd of guards came running, automated weapons pointed squarely at them. They didn't bother telling the two to drop their own weapons before opening fire. Sam didn't think about what she was doing in those few seconds; she just acted.

She reached out and grabbed a fistful of the man's shirt to his surprise and pulled him around the corner along with her. A hail of bullets ate huge chunks out of the wall next to them, and Sam turned her head to avoid the debris flying at them in chunks.

The security discontinued their fire and starting sprinting at them again. The man pushed her aside and threw something around the corner. Then he grabbed her arm to pull her away from the blast that resulted in a thick cloud of smoke. Sam barely had time to process what was happening before she spotted her new companion jogging away from the smoke that had started to fill the corridors.

*cough* *cough* "…hey…wait!" Sam took off after him once she gained her composure. He turned back to look at her briefly but kept running. And then she realized something: _He's the guy I saw talking to that pretty woman in the dining hall…What the fuck…Who i_ _ **s**_ _he?!_

Despite feeling almost as disoriented as the guards by the man's actions, she was grateful for the diversion he created. If he hadn't had that ace up his sleeve, the combination of the guards' numbers and firepower surely would have overwhelmed them. Sam tried to rack her brain about what could have gone wrong to put her in this situation in the first place.

 _Everything was going according to plan and then suddenly this super sexy stranger shows up and it all goes to shit. Did he trip an alarm or could it be something else? There's something about this man that I can't quite place...The way he looks is just so…wait…dammit! Now is not the time to get distracted by his pretty face! I need answers and more importantly a way out of here!_ Sam shook her head, trying to focus back on the task at hand.

The man was far ahead of her and as she watched him round a turn in the corridor, she heard a very audible *crack*. In the next moment he was on his back. _Shit, now what?_ Sam slowed her pace and poised her weapon. She reached the bend and the man on the floor but saw only emptiness stretched out in front of her. Looking down, she noted that he appeared to be out cold.

"What in the hell-" A very sharp elbow to the back of her neck sent her to her knees. She barely had enough time to flip on her back and roll out of the way before her attacker fired a shot. It missed her head but left her right ear ringing. Sam fired in retaliation and the bullet grazed the attacker's hand, sending the weapon flying out of it.

The assailant held up their hands in submission as Sam gradually got up. She kept her gun pointed at them as she rose. They backed up a few steps, almost tripping over her companion – who began to regain consciousness. Sam was about to shoot them but the man grabbed them by both legs and tackled them to the floor before she could.

Both thrashed about for a while, leaving Sam without a clear window to fire. The assailant got the upper hand and freed themselves from his grasp long enough to dodge roll and pick up their weapon. They were quick to avoid the man who lunged for them again and disarm Sam with a swift kick to her forearm.

Then the attacker ducked under her counter punch and pulled her arm behind her back. She felt cold metal against the nape of her neck causing her to freeze. They forced her to her knees, rendering her helpless.

Leaning down to speak in her ear, "Hand over the fucking drive or I'm putting a bullet in your skull." The inflection sounded feminine and somehow familiar…. Sam struggled to free herself but they held her firmly in place and pressed their gun harder into her skin.

"Fuck. You," She winced, grinding her teeth. The assailant pulled the gun away and then smashed the butt of it hard against the back of Sam's head. She fell to the ground with a grunt and her vision went momentarily dark.

Sam heard the man shout in a very attractive voice, "Drop it _now!"_ Then he took a few steps closer to stand over her. _Is he protecting me…? No…he can't be. He barely knows me._

The attacker back-stepped and laughed, "I didn't anticipate Agent Wilson having a bodyguard…at least she has good taste."

Sam recovered some of her sight long enough to catch sight of his smirk as he retorted, "She didn't expect me either. I guess I'm good at that sort of thing."

"Maybe, but you obviously weren't clever enough to avoid _me_. Now give me the drive or I'll kill you both."

"I don't think so. In case you haven't notice you don't exactly have the advantage here anymore." He stood a little closer to Sam as she struggled to lift herself.

"Oh, don't I?" They asked defiantly. The sentries appeared as they spoke and raced toward the three. The assailant laughed for a second time while the man yielded to the command of one of the guards to stand down. In the next second a punch was thrown to his abdomen and he fell down next to Sam.

The attacker grabbed Sam's ponytail and pulled her head back roughly as they dug in her pockets for the drive. Upon finding it, the attacker kicked her in the gut, "So much for being one of the best, Agent Wilson. I guess your good fortune has finally run out."

"That...voice…" Sam held onto her stomach, the agony from the kick making her want to vomit. The man grimaced and stared daggers at the assailant. Sam knew by his expression that he wanted to leap at them again, but both knew he would be put down before he could reach them.

The attacker turned to walk away and flatly commanded, "Kill them." The security raised their weapons but they weren't fast enough. To Sam's surprise, the man had enough strength to shove her out of the line of fire while sliding behind the wall across from her. Bullets ripped through the concrete.

Sam put her weight against the wall and bit-by-bit ascended to her feet. As the guards progressed in their direction, she saw the assailant sprint through a door and disappear. She felt compelled to chase after them. _I have to get the data back!_

The man poked his head out and then pulled back as more bullets flew in his direction. Sam snapped her attention to him and their eyes locked. Her already pounding heart felt like it might burst out of her chest.

"What are you waiting for?! Go after them!" His bitter words and her own instincts ordered her to give pursuit. However, the pleading look in his eyes told her that he wanted her stay and help, and that left her torn. _The job always comes first…but if I just leave him here…._

It was supposed to be a simple choice, but where did she draw the line? When did duty stop being more important than human lives...? Sam's mind flashed back to her mission in Prague before she forced the memories away. _No! I won't that happen again!_

Sam got down on her haunches, "Listen to me! I'm going to draw their fire so you can make a break for it!"

"What?! Are you insane; you have to go after the data!"

Sam scowled, "Do you want to live or _not?!"_ The man went quiet and glowered back at her for a long time. He then pulled himself up and waited with an irritated expression for her to make her move.

She took a deep breath and then spun around the corner to discharge a few shots. Preoccupied with her, the guards fired in her direction as the man took the opportunity to dive for cover. He dodged most of the shots, but one bullet managed to scrape his left shoulder.

"Ah!" He went against the wall beside her, holding on to his shoulder and sinking down from the pain. Sam bent down next to him and helped him up and he shook her off. "I'm fine," he hissed.

Sam drew back from him, aggravated by his attitude. "You got any more of those smoke bombs, tough guy?" He shot her a sideways glance and then handed her a dark gray pellet. She threw it down the hall as the two of them lumbered away, both trying to ignore their injuries.

They had made it ways down the passage before an abrupt series of explosions from the floor above sent them crashing into each other. He caught Sam by her waist with his wounded arm and she went to support his upper back before they both hit the floor. Having him so close to her made her blush somewhat.

"What was that?" She asked to no one in particular and the man replied with a pined groan. Sam thought of Jess then and she mentally prayed that her youngest hadn't been caught in the blasts. _Please, I can't lose her too…Jesus Christ, what the fuck is going on?_

Sam pulled them both upright and to her astonishment he didn't move away from her as quickly as before. He gently released himself from her grasp and rested against the wall. Sam brushed herself off and forced her face to return to its natural shade.

"Whatever is happening," he breathed, looking serious, "it looks like we're stuck with each other. _For now,_ it looks like I have to trust you." The man narrowed his eyes in frustration at the idea.

She rolled hers and spat out, "Whatever. I really don't need you slowing me down. But because we're both injured…I guess I'll make an exception just this once." Sam placed her gun in the waistband of her pants, "If that's how it's going to be and seeing as how I just saved your ass _twice_ , you owe me your trust _and_ your cooperation at the very least."

He sighed, "You've got me there." He pushed off the wall, unexpectedly finding the vigor to stand tall. "Fine, we'll do things your way. But don't expect much else from me other than that." _Ungrateful asshole._

"Oh believe me, I won't be asking you out or anything after this. You've just been a pain in my ass so far anyway." She sassily placed a hand on her hip, "And since we're doing things _my wa_ y, I want to know the name of the man I have the displeasure of dealing with until this is all over."

He didn't reply right away but instead grinned widely at her. Sam noted that his smile was breathtaking and tried to hide the blush threatening to burn her cheeks. She didn't know if she was more annoyed by his disposition or by the fact that his undeniable sexiness was making her a little weak in the knees.

"Agent Kim Jongdae. Nice to make your acquaintance, Special Agent Samantha Wilson." Of course his words came out sarcastically, but she decided in that instance that maybe putting up with him wouldn't be so bad after all. Unlike Mr. Oh, he seemed to know – mostly in any case - when he was defeated.

 _Oh, this outta be interesting._


	5. Chapter 5

_For want of a better word, call it magnetism. Like it or not, it's a kind of power that snares people and reels them in._ **– Haruki Murakami**

 **Jessica**

 _ **JUST. IGNORE. HIM.**_

 _That's it_ _!_ _He thrives on attention! Deprive him of that and maybe he'll leave me alone. Ugh, I have to fucking try something! Otherwise, this embarrassment is gonna actually_ _ **kill me**_ _._

Before Sam arrived at the table, Sehun had been tormenting her with his dashing good looks and snarky attitude. He saw her reactions to him an opportunity to be a complete ass about it – he was damn fine _and he knew it._ Worst of all he knew that she agreed. It was stupid that he was having such an effect on her.

She needed to be more professional. No one would ever take her seriously if they found out she let some immature guy like Oh Sehun get to her in such a juvenile way. _Fitz would have a field day with this information. Gah, get it together!_

Jess took a deep breath. Turning in her seat, she played like she was far more interested in her bracelet and nails then even giving him the time of day. On the bright side too, he wasn't looking at her anymore with those piercing eyes of his.

Sehun had ordered some strong-smelling drink and was chatting up the waitress. _She looks like she might pass out where she stands. I_ _ **understand.**_ _Good-fucking-lord I UNDERSTAND._

Knowing she only had to wait for Agent Greco to signal, she would be home free soon! It couldn't be much longer now. Sam could see the urgency in her eyes, right? Yeah, and the eldest was hauling ass on her suffering little sister's behalf! Jess tried to focus on her breathing so she could relax.

The waitress bowed politely and went to leave, looking absolutely relieved and kinda breathless. _Wish I could feel some relief… I'm barely keeping myself together!_ Jess watched her go for a second before going back to a cuticle that needed her utmost attention.

 _He's making me lose my focus so easily! The mission is way too important for that kind of shit right now… Why?! Why am I getting so crazy flustered around you?! Stupid sexy NOODLE… You're a jerk and not worth my time!_

Sehun meanwhile didn't immediately care to notice her actions. Jess was too busy herself - not being interested (or really trying her damndest) - to see what he was doing anyway. She still had her back to him when he took a large swig of his noxious beverage. He leaned forward after swallowing and stared down into the glass. He tapped his long fingers against.

His eyes were only on her after doing this for several minutes in complete silence. Afterwards the rest of him followed suit to face her. He looked at her curiously and asked, "So…no word from your friends, Agent Wilson?"

The unanticipated cadence of his voice in the quiet startled her. She panicked, speaking a bit too fast and loud as she hastily responded, "No-they-haven't!" Sehun blinked once and didn't speak, seemingly perplexed.

Sehun observed that Jess was preoccupied with something in her lap, so he scooted a tad closer to get a better look. "Is that bracelet really more interesting than having a conversation? You're file said you speak quite often especially when you disagree." Jess swallowed hard. It was comical, but she was grateful that his breath reeked from the alcohol so she could focus on that instead of his proximity to her.

 _Seriously, you could peel paint with that rank freakin' breath, bleh! I like drinking as much as the next person but jeez come on!_ "Ugh, could you back up some? What were you drinking anyway _?!"_ Jess put her hand over her mouth.

She didn't see it but the tips of Sehun's cheeks turned red a moment and the booze was not to blame. He instantaneously shut his mouth and slowly straightened his back. "It's high-grade, barley Soju – _distilled_. You should have some. Good for the nerves."

"So you're saying you're nervous?" _Why are still talking to him?! SHUT UP._

A throaty chuckle escaped his lips, "I don't know what it is you _mean."_ The inflection on the last word sounded sort of flirty, and it made her heartbeat increase in speed. _Oh no… This has to stop! I have to stand up to him!_

"I don't mean anything by it _at all."_ Jess took one last deep breath as she decided face him. She couldn't hide all of it, but most of her blush had gone away. Maybe he would just mistake what was left for makeup in the moodily lit room.

He wasn't grinning when she looked at him - or scowling this time either. Instead, Sehun sat back in his chair stone-faced. Jess froze in place while continuing to mostly maintain her poker face upon meeting his gaze.

Tilting his head slightly, a sliver of a smirk cracked the surface of his expression. "I think you should be more concerned with the state of your own nervous, Agent Wilson. You've been red-faced most of the evening. Are you feeling well or…is your face _usually_ that color?" Jess was once again dumbstruck and then almost as quickly - absolutely irritated.

"Ok, wait a minute-" She went to sass him with everything she could muster, but she was knocked backward by the blast of a nearby explosion from the kitchen. Jess grabbed for the table to keep from going on the floor with her chair but she just seized the tablecloth and dragged it with her.

The momentum sent Sehun forward and he grasped for her arm. So instead of going backwards onto the floor, she went right down on the ground with him. Luckily, however, she didn't land completely on top of him. One arm was draped over his torso clinging for dear life to his suit jacket sleeve. The other braced for impact with the tile.

Even though he had been nothing but a self-righteous terror the entire time, Sehun tried to shield _both of them_ from the debris. Jess didn't have time to be flabbergasted by it before a second explosion –this time from above – shattered the glass roof. Substantial fragments of glass and metal began to rain down all around them. Sehun threw the weight of his body over her before she could protest.

The unsuspecting contestants and staff ran chaotically around the room from the falling wreckage. Most weren't fast enough and became pinned under the weight of all of it. A large group of people trampled and pushed one another out of the way trying to escape, only to be crushed by heavy steel beams.

Jess couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She could faintly hear the screaming and cries for help over the ringing in her ears. Her grip on his sleeve tightened in her disorientation.

Sehun was talking because she could sense the vibrations and it caused her to look up at him. As he spoke his voice became clearer and clearer, "…Agent Wil…We….to get out…hey….we need to go!" Jess wanted to push him away from her, not entirely convinced his concern was sincere or even warranted. Despite that, she chose to instead to just nod that she understood and let him help her up.

Still holding on to her, he glanced over at the kitchen - which was engulfed in flames. "Ok, come on, this way!" _How has he not been affected by the blast…?_ Wanting to interrogate him but thinking better of it considering the circumstances, she decided to follow him and save the question for later.

Sehun made sure she was steady enough to stand on her own and release his hold when they reached the fire. Jess held up her arm to block the intense heat. It was beginning to spread around the dining room and she stepped back from it. _How the fuck is_ _ **this**_ _our exit?_

"Quick, help me find a fire extinguisher!" Jess took a second to go over his request and then promptly began looking for one. There where a group of them hanging behind a torn curtain and an overturned table. She sprinted for it, almost tripping because she hadn't quite gained back her composure.

Jess almost fell on the box that housed the extinguisher but she managed to get a good grip on it and fling open the door. As she pulled it off the hook and then she heard a small raspy moan on the ground nearby. Shooting her gaze towards the sound, her face instantly lost every shed of color.

The pretty woman she had been chatting with before reached up to her with one hand bloody, trembling hand. To Jess's horror, the lady's other arm and the rest of her body were pinned against the wall. The sharp edge of the broken metal piping holding her in the sitting position was slowly severing her at the waist. Jess went to her knees beside her.

She grabbed the woman's free hand with both of hers. Wanting to say something encouraging to her as she gasped for air, Jess found she had none to give. The lady let out rapid breaths and shook violently as she clung to life, shocking Jess into a silence that cut the air around them and shredded her insides.

She stared at Jess desperately, and then suddenly stopped wheezing altogether. The hand became limp as her body slumped forward and became completely still. Jess just sat there, still holding her hand, paralyzed… Blank.

"Hey, did you find-" Sehun came up behind her and stopped in his tracks as he watched her grip onto the woman's hand hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Jess paid him no mind as she firmly held it; she started to shake a little from squeezing. He gradually bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her back to reality with a start.

Jess jumped to her feet and turned her head to avoid his gaze. She picked up an extinguisher as she passed him. Waltzing over to the inferno, she began mercilessly spraying the flames with foam. After a few minutes, Sehun was at her side following suit without acknowledging what had just happened. For the first time all evening to her relief, he didn't seem to have anything to say.

Their combined effort rapidly eradicated the fire enough so they could pass through safely. Sehun tossed his canister aside, "Alright, now it's clear. Let's get moving." He stepped over a hunk of twisted metal and climbed over a tangle of beams before he realized Jess wasn't next to him.

She was steadily walking in Sehun's general direction but her attention was staying with the frenzied display in the dining hall. Jess became motionless after several steps as she gazed over the scene. _Hell…it looks like we're in hell…_

Sehun called to her as he backtracked, "Hey, we've got to keep moving." He stepped over the metal again, "Are you listening to me?" Jess only gave him silence in response.

Sidestepping around her, Sehun observed her vacant face and immediately attempted to break her concentration. He dared to touch her arm, speaking softly, "There's nothing we can do here anymore. We can't help these people by staying."

Jess peered at him but didn't move her head. She knew that he was right, that it wasn't her place to save them. The two of them had a liability to stop the bastards responsible before any more craziness ensued. It usually continues to commence in speedy succession after explosives go off.

Jess understood all of this sure, but she could also still feel the coldness of the pretty woman's hand. It made her palms itch... Her instincts told her to run back into the room, but her legs betrayed her. Climbing over the wreckage, she was over the debris and past the kitchen threshold in minutes.

Sehun was following close behind wordlessly, looking slightly frustrated. Remembering her earpiece she doubled-tapped the device. "Sam, Agent Greco…someone come in. What's your status? Hello? " Jess disappointingly just heard the hum of static.

Kicking a heap of melted pans out of the way, Jess repeated her plea and was met for a second time with nothing. _Damn, the explosions caused interference with the signal. Or I'm not in range of anyone…? Either way I have to find Greco and get the fuck out of here! …I hope Sam is ok…._

Messing with the button, Jess hoped that calibrating the earpiece would solve her problem. A small crowd of armored men burst through the gnarled doors of the opposite entrance, taking her attention away. They shouted something in Korean and then rushed the two – whom were on opposite sides of an oversized prepping island that extended from one end of the kitchen to the other.

Two came around on her side and she put her head down and shoved the first guard firmly in the gut, causing him to fall backwards into the second. The first hit his skull on the burned surface hard. Jess leaped over him gracefully, kneed the other in the groan, and finished the second off with an uppercut to the jaw. _Don't fuck with me right now! I'm so NOT in the mood._

She was deceptively fast and agile when it came to close-quarters combat. And she had a fire in her belly that gave her a little extra push too. Inside she was raging but externally she projected precision with her blows. _YOU'RE IN MY FUCKING WAY!_

The first sentry grasped at her ankle and she angrily twisted and stomped down on his throat with her free foot. On the other side of the island, Sehun moved fluidly out of the way of a guard's blow. A second and third guard went for him but couldn't seem to get a grip on him. He yawned haughtily.

In his arrogance, Sehun didn't watch where he was stepping and came close to accidentally impaling himself on a metal shard adhered to a countertop. Surprise and terror washed over his face as he noticed it just in time. Quickly capturing the body armor of one of the guards, Sehun swung the man around to take his place.

The sharp chunk was large enough to slice clear through the sentinel and cut a hole in Sehun's shirt. A tiny stream of blood trickled down from the cut just above his bellybutton, staining his shirt. He stepped back wide-eye and panting. The second and third guards didn't give him time to catch his breath as they sprung for him.

One guard was knocked senseless as a metal tray whizzed through the air and collided with his head. Jess was across the room looking pleased. Sehun took the opportunity to roundhouse kick the last sentry in the side of the cranium, rapidly reducing the treat level in the room to zero.

Sehun glanced in Jess's direction, "Thanks for the help." He winked at her, turning her cheeks instantly pink. Fortunately, Sehun wasn't looking, his attention focused on making sure the lobby ahead of them was clear of any more security.

Jess strode up to stand beside him, "You're welcome, I guess." Pulling out her sidearm and glancing over their surroundings, "Ok it looks clear, let's keeping moving."

"Whereto?" Sehun pulled out his own weapon and waited for her to reply before moving further into the lobby.

"I thought you already had something in mind? Didn't you want to go in this direction in the first place?"

"Well, I was hoping you knew the way to the auxiliary kitchen." He tugged at the hole in his shirt, "My original escape plan…fell through. So going with you is my best bet." Sehun bent his tall body towards her and smirked, "Looks like you're stuck with me."

Jess turned bright red and scowled, "Fine, whatever. Just try and keep up." Leading the way through the lobby, she racked her brain for the information that would guide them in the right direction. She remembered looking over a map on the plane and recalled that there was supposed to be a directory pointing the way. Unfortunately, it had been obliterated and lay in pieces scattered about the room.

The only other information she knew about its location was that it was on the opposite side of the building from the main kitchen. She didn't know where to begin looking for the right door, but the employee's only exit behind the front desk seemed promising. "Let's try through there."

The two of them headed up to the desk and movement overhead caught Sehun's eye. He paused. A figure had been watching them from the exposed upper floor briefly before vanishing. "What was _that?"_

Jess followed his gaze but didn't see anything. "I don't know but let's keep going. If we find Agent Greco, then maybe we'll have a chance of getting out of here."

Not arguing with her, Sehun cleared the high counter with ease. Jess on the other hand found the lofty desk to be daunting. As she struggled to climb over it, Sehun offered her a hand and she swatted it away.

"I've got it, thanks." Eventually she clambered over it and landed on the other side next to him. "See I told you. Piece of cake."

"Pft, if you say so." He huffed, folding his arms. They exited the lobby into a long passageway with various doors lining the walls. Jess didn't bother to check the doors as she passed them. Around a corner to the right, a second corridor ended with a set of double doors that apparently led to a private dining room.

"There! We should be able to access the kitchen through there." Jess sprinted for the entrance, going to the wall next to the door and Sehun did the same. They both carefully opened a door and glanced over the room before stepping inside.

The dining room looked ready for business with the exception of the chairs still piled on the tables and the lack of staff present. The décor of the room was elegant and modern, and under different circumstances, Jess would have loved to have dinner there. Upon taking note of a metal door behind the bar across the room, Jess beamed.

"There's the kitchen. Come on, let's go!" Jess went behind the counter and rested her back against the doorframe. Next to her, the wall was fully stocked with an assortment of liquor bottles, and she suddenly wished she had time to stop for a drink. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Sehun had been right about her needing something for the nerves.

Sehun was on the other side of the doorway, watching and waiting for her next move. Jess stood on tiptoes and peered through the round window. On the opposite side of the glass she saw a man wearing a security guards' uniform, lounging against a large sink. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing his helmet, so Jess recognized him to be Greco right away.

Pushing through the door she exclaimed, "Agent Greco! Thank God you're alive! This has been one hell of a night!" She marched up to him, looking and feeling a bit more relaxed.

"Ah, the lovely Agent Wilson finally graces me with her presence. And she brought a friend, I see… Mr. Oh I presume? It's nice to see that both of you made it here safely." Greco bowed to Sehun - who bowed in return, and then put both of his hands back on his gun. He seemed wary of Greco, but Jess didn't pay attention to him.

"Nice to see you are alright too… So what's going on around here?"

Greco pushed himself off of the sink, "Not good, my friend. Not good at all. Somehow we have been compromised and what's worse is that I can't get in touch with your sister. There's too much interference."

Jess's heart sank, "What…? You haven't heard from Sam either?"

"I am afraid I have not. In any event, we should stay our course and head to the parking lot where our ride awaits us. We can regroup once we've reached it." Without looking for anyone's approval, Greco turned to exit the kitchen.

"Wait just a minute! In case you've forgotten, Sam is one of _ours_ and she _has the data_. Our number one priority is to make sure that the data leaves the building securely. But you don't at least want to go looking for her?" Jess crossed her arms and furrowed her brows.

"Samantha is a very capable woman. There is no doubt in my mind that she has found a way to escape. Besides, we don't have time for this. Security is looking everywhere for us, so we must press on." Greco's back was to them again.

She scoffed, "You know for someone who used to be her lover, you don't seem all that concerned about her well-being." _Oops that was supposed to be a secret._ Behind her Sehun was glancing between she and Greco, bewildered. _Oh well, I'll just have to make sure noodle keeps his mouth shut about it._

Frowning, Greco retorted, "That is besides the point! We do not have time to debate this, Agent. We must get out of here as quickly as possible!"

To his annoyance, however, Jess wouldn't let it go, "Alight, then _you_ head to the parking lot and find our ride. I, on the other hand, am going to the sublevel to look for my sister." Greco's look of disapproval didn't faze her, "I'm not leaving this place without her! I've already potentially lost one sibling… I refuse to lose Sam too!"

Greco took in a big gulp of air and then laughed, "I see beauty _and_ stubbornness runs in your family. You're love for your sister is obviously too strong for me to convince you to depart without her. A pity, really." Out of nowhere, a dagger flew through the air heading for Sehun's head. He dodged the blade and it lodged itself in the wall.

In shock, Jess cry out, "What the fuck?!"

"I didn't want to have to kill you, but you have forced my hand." Two more blades came for Jess's head this time and she dove behind a stack of metallic boxes. Sehun fired two shots at Greco but he missed and was forced behind the boxes too when additional knives came soaring at him in retaliation.

"I admire you having the courage to go after your sister, but that kind of sentimentality will get you killed in this business." Greco tugged a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. "Or worse leave you with scars that never heal…" He tossed the grenade into the room, "See you in hell, my friend."

As the grenade landed on the floor next to them, Sehun and Jess wasted no time in running for the reinforced door of the walk-in freezer. They had barely made it inside when the blast forced the heavy door closed and knocked both of them into a rack of frozen vegetable bags. Another explosion from the oven sent hunks of metal pelting into the door, denting it.

Jess scooted off the bags and pulled Sehun up along with her. They exited the freezer quickly, weapons ready. The sprinkler system overhead suddenly kicked on, and the two ran from the room before they could be completely drenched. Jess didn't stop once she got into the next room and started fast walking in the direction Greco had gone.

Grabbing her wrist, Sehun asked, "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me!" Jess freed herself from his grip, "I have to go after that traitorous fucker!"

"Well, you can't. We don't have time to chase after him and look for Agent Wilson." Water droplets slid down the sides of his face as he spoke.

She glared at him, "I fucking know that, alright! It's just…he just tried to kill us! And he was probably the one behind the explosions that killed all of those people! I _can't_ let him get away with that!" Her mind flashed back to the pretty woman and her cold hand.

Looking absolutely calm somehow, Sehun said, "Yes, of course, but we can worry about getting back at him _later_. Right now, we need to focus on securing the data. Going after your sister is the only alternative."

Jess took a moment longer to glare at him but then looked down at her feet. Even knowing that she had a mission to complete, rage still boiled her blood and blinded her judgment. She clenched both of her fists, the hold on her gun tightening until her hand shook.

Sehun walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We should go now, while we still have a chance to find them." Sehun's free hand went to his mouth and then he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

Some confusion replaced her anger. _"Them?_ Don't you mean _her?_

"Yes, well…" He suddenly became flustered. "I mean…ok, listen, I'll explain on the way…but we've really got to go. _Now_."

 _You're kind of cute when you're embarrassed..._

"No…wait a minute." Jess found herself for whatever reason becoming calmer under his touch. _His hand is so warm…_ With his hand still on her shoulder, he looked at her, a tad annoyed. "Thanks…thanks for sticking with me."

Sehun chuckled, "I'm not doing this for you, Agent Wilson…but you're welcome regardless. Drinks are on me when we get out of here." He winked at her again and then walked forward, brushing his arm against hers.

He didn't see it but Jess was giving him a genuine smile. A mixture of appreciation for Sehun and anxiety over the whereabouts of the eldest sister flooded her abdomen all at once. Honestly she didn't care much for either emotion. She was still glad that she wasn't dealing with all of this on her own, even if Oh Sehun had to be the one accompanying her.

The pair found a door to a stairwell fairly easily. Sehun peaked inside first and then gestured for Jess to follow after he determined it was secure. As they descended the stairs, Jess decided now was a good a time as any to ask, "So what's this about there being another agent here? What haven't you told me?"

Sehun exasperatedly replied, "I _suppose_ there's no sense in keeping it from you now… I wasn't the only agent from my agency assigned to this mission. A second agent was charged with making sure that the data made it out of the building safely."

"And why didn't Sam or I know about this? Why keep us in the dark?"

He responded, "I guess upper management didn't want you to know that we were having someone follow in fear that you wouldn't agree. Other than that I don't know. They don't really _tell me_ anything."

"They were probably right about us disagreeing, but I doubt it would have hurt to tell us about it." Jess kept her pace with Sehun until they reached the bottom of the stairs and then she let him lead again.

"What else do you know about him?"

"He is a high-ranking member of our team and is a very capable agent. Hopefully, that means that if he is with your sister, they are both still alive…" His tone suggested that he doubted his words somewhat.

"For some reason I get the feeling that you're more than just colleagues. Or at the very least you know him pretty well."

"You could say that… I've known him for a very long time anyway and I trust him." Sehun's expression darkened, "We've been through a lot together…"

"Oh…" Jess searched for the right words to say next, "Well, if he's as capable as you claim and he's with Sam…then they both should be fine." Jess wasn't sure if she really believed what she said but Sehun seemed appreciative of her positivity nonetheless.

They reached the entrance to the basement and gingerly walked through into the sublevel. The state of the basement did nothing to boost Jess's confidence in thinking that Sam was still all right. All around them, the roof had caved in and blocked most of the corridor on either side. Above, the lights flickered, desperately trying to stay lit.

As they scaled the ceiling debris, Jess wondered if their efforts really were futile after all. The reality was that Jess feared she would find her sister in a similar state as the woman upstairs. She could be pinned down somewhere, bleeding out or could have been crushed under the weight of the ceiling and was already dead.

Dread flooded her senses, gnawing away at her resolve. Jess like Sam wasn't religious – in fact the thought of it often irked her on a personal level – but she allowed herself a silent prayer for her sister just this once. She needed as much faith as possible to keep her feet moving forward.

It was hard for Jess to accept that she couldn't think of anything else do in that moment except hope in vain for Sam to be alive and keep searching for her. She wished that her sister would just appear already and relieve her overworked nerves from the anguish of her current situation. Jess longed for the nightmarish ordeal to end as soon as possible.

Taking every chance she had to look for her sister, Jess examined everything vigilantly as she passed it. Each time that she became empty-handed her chest would ache, and she had to force herself to look away and keep moving. Sehun looked back at her a few times to note her meticulous behavior but didn't say anything or try to stop her.

They had searched several long passages, but only found shell casings and more rubble. An arm protruded from under a slab, and to Jess's reprieve it belonged to a sentinel. The next few chunks she investigated held nothing of value to her great disappointment. Jess just kept searching, however, not knowing what else she could do and at the same time yearning to tear down all of the walls until she found her sister.

 _Sam…goddammit, where are you? …Please be ok…_


	6. Chapter 6

_Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something._ **–** **Henry David Thoreau**

 **Samantha**

 **Moving like lightning as they darted around corners and through doorways, the assailant tried in vain to lose their determined pursuers.** Sam and Jongdae however wouldn't let up. Every time the assailant would disappear momentarily, they discovered that one of the two agents would find a way to be right on their heels again. Thinking that they were in the clear, they mistakably underestimated the stubbornness of the desperate pair to get the data drive back. Through their arrogance the aggressor stopped to rest and Sam and Jongdae caught up to them quickly.

In a last ditch effort to escape, the assailant took to a stairwell and began sprinting upwards. Sam shoved through the door a moment later right behind them, slamming it against the wall. She began to ascend the stairs too but was halted by a burst of shots. Stepping backwards, she almost lost her balance trying to avoid being shot in the foot.

Jongdae was, of course, close in her wake, and he prevented the inevitable neck-breaking tumble by taking hold of Sam's sides with both of his hands. The volt of recognition of who was suddenly touching her waist threw her off even more, and she jerked forward, grabbing for the railing to keep from falling back on him. As she held on, Jongdae took the opportunity to run past her after the assailant.

It had been that way from the beginning: Jongdae and Sam traded being in the lead several times like they were having a race. She had never intended to turn the pursuit into a competition, but Jongdae seemed to be convinced that he needed to be the one to catch the thief. Sam despite her reluctance and lastly in her annoyance decided that was unacceptable.

After all, she had been sole accountability, originally, and _she_ should be the one to get it back. Besides, Sam wasn't about to give his egotistical ass the satisfaction of one-upping her, making her look bad. Something about Jongdae made her want to punch him in the nose and at the same time (mostly because he was irresistibly handsome) capture his face and kiss him.

In her experience, men like that were dangerous and needed to be avoided at all costs. She, nonetheless, found herself playing along willingly. Sam huffed and quickly reclaimed her poise, running up after him.

He was a few flights ahead of her but she was gaining speed. Taking the stairs two at a time, she was at length back in view of the attacker in minutes. They let off a few more shots but now Jongdae was the target. Unwavering, he took out his own weapon and returned fire.

The attacker stopped shooting and ripped a sign off of the wall, flinging it at him like a frisbee. He wasn't quick enough to dodge this strike, and the edge of the sign hit him squarely in the forehead. He lost his stability and fell back on the landing below on his butt with a thump. Sam tried not to laugh too much as she dashed past him, but a chuckle escaped anyhow.

Jongdae grabbed his cranium with one hand and his backside with the other, moaning. He eventually got to his feet on unsteady legs, wincing from the soreness. Momentarily noticing him watching her go, she suddenly wished that her voluptuous buttocks didn't bounce such a great deal when she went up stairs.

They had dashed up so many sets of steps that there was nowhere else left for them to run but out onto the roof. The roof access flew open noisily as the assailant burst through it. Sam caught the door before it could close, drawing her gun while grudgingly greeting the cold sting of the elevated winter wind. Snow fell delicately about, as she frantically searched for the infuriatingly illusory aggressor.

She roamed the white mist, checking behind ventilation systems and external piping, only to find every space vacant. In due course, when she emerged from behind the building's power station, she came upon a curious sight. A large prepped helicopter waited patiently in the stillness, while a man stood in front of chopper like a sculpture, ostensibly admiring it.

It didn't take long for Sam to discern the identity of the man. She lowered her weapon and approached Agent Greco cautiously. He didn't turn to look at her straight away, but when she stopped just a few feet away from him, she at last had his awareness. "Agent Samantha Wilson…you are still alive after all. I am pleased." He gave her a sweet smile but something was off about the robotic manner in which he articulated.

"Agent Greco? What in the hell is going on? What are you _doing_ up here?"

"Waiting for you. In case you haven't already figured it out, you were led here purposefully." _Huh? That's ridiculous; there's no way…unless he had something to do with the detonations and the security that-_

"Tell me what's going on! Why aren't you at your post and where is my sister?!" Instantaneously suspicious of him, Sam raised her weapon once more.

Greco held up his hands. "Easy now…alright, we'll skip the pleasantries and get right to it." With a grim tone, " Firstly, I regret to inform you…that your sister was not as fortunate as you to have made it this far. She's…dead."

It took only a matter of seconds after he said the word 'dead' for Sam's entire world to fall apart. She was stunned into silence, her gun falling to her side. Feeling as though she were suffocating, her breathing hitched and then she rapidly started to hyperventilate. _No, no, no, no, no, NO!_

"…no…she…it can't be…no….Jess…can't be…dead…!"

"…I'm afraid it is true. She's gone, Samantha." Greco appeared sympathetic. He couldn't understand the weight of his words, nor did she want his compassion. Normally, Sam could keep her calm when on the job, but the personal significance of it starting dragging her down past the point of giving a shit about being dignified.

Gravity overtook her and Sam fell to her knees, her gun slipping from her fingers as both palms pressed against the snow-covered concrete. Tears welled-up in the corners of her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Soon she bent over with her temple pressed to the ground, weeping quietly.

"Sam…" Greco took a stride towards her. _No, this is your fault. You leave me to suffer alone for four years and now you've let my youngest sister_ _ **die.**_ _You said once that you loved me, but you stomped all over what we had as if it never mattered to you… Then you let the same monsters that took my twin take someone else more precious than my life from me? FUCK THAT._ _ **I don't want your PITY!**_

Her face shot up and she hissed warningly, "Stay the fuck away from me, you son-of-a bitch!"

Shocked, Greco backtracked. "Moje laska, please…"

Rage clouded her vision as she leaped up and socked Greco in the jaw. "Don't you _dare_ call me that! She was your responsibility!" Sam kicked him in the ribs and he grunted, grabbing his sides. "You motherfucker, you were supposed to get her out safely and _YOU LET HER DIE!"_

Jongdae appeared around the power station, attracted by the screaming. When he saw Sam sitting on Greco's chest punching him, Jongdae ran over to subdue her, seizing her by the arms. Able to drag her off Greco but struggling to keep his hold on her, Jongdae tightened his grip.

"LET ME GO!" Sam twisted and thrashed trying to get free.

"What are you doing?! He's on our side!"

"No! She's dead because of HIM! Let me go, goddammit!" Kicking hard at his leg, Jongdae finally released her and she swiftly recovered her gun. "I should kill you just for this!" She aimed the sights at center of his skull.

"Wait! No, please!" Greco put a hand up to shield his bloody face. While she wrestled with the idea of putting him out of everyone's misery, someone bellowed at her to cease and desist.

"Stop! Put the gun down!" Out of the shadows emerged the attacker they had been chasing before without the disguise this time. Sam's puffy eyes enlarged at the unforgettable visage of her old colleague, Alina Vodovos. Years ago in Prague the Russian spy and she had been friends in a sense. Now they stood in front of each other as evident enemies.

"A-a-alina…?!" It was like all of the ghosts of her past were suddenly congregating in her present all at once, and Sam was overwhelmed with sentiment. She felt as though she couldn't comprehend what was happening anymore.

"Yes, Sam, it's me... Now put your fucking gun down!" Alina's gray eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I…" Her hand shook, but she didn't let her weapon fall. Greco stood up and Alina joined him at his side, still aiming at Sam. Seeing them next to each other was like reliving her memories in her current reality. How could it be that they were here now of all places and _against_ her? _Why is this happening…what's going on?…I don't understand…_

Jongdae in the meantime watched the exchange mutely. He stumbled over to Sam's side, the pain in his leg making it difficult to walk. Sam couldn't have cared less about the glower on his face that he intended for her. His full concentration was on the two people in front of them in no time, conversely.

"Oh, the bodyguard is still here! You're just as stubborn as she is, I see." Alina cocked her head to one side and gave Jongdae an evocative smile. His brows furrowed further.

Greco spoke, "Listen to me, Samantha! Things have changed. We don't have to be foes! Everything you've been led to believe about what is really going on has been a lie!"

"…What…? What are even talking about?! _Why are you doing this?!"_

He took a deep breath and explained, "It all goes back to the mission in Prague. What happened there was hidden but no longer! This game show, the people that invented it…did so to reap revenge on the world because of _our mistakes."_ Sam's mouth fell slightly open, aghast. _Prague…it's not…how can it be…?_

"Get to the point, Alessio. We haven't got all night!" Alina spat intolerantly.

"Long story short, our prior adversaries gave us the choice I'm about to give you now. Either you stand down and join us in trying to save yourself or suffer and die along with everyone else. These people cannot be stopped! Soon, they will claim the lives of many more people in their quest for vengeance, and the _only_ way out is to aid them."

The things coming out of his mouth didn't seem real, didn't seem like they were really coming from the Alessio she thought she knew. "Are you mad?! Listen to yourself!" Jongdae's words accurately reflected her own thoughts.

"I am quite _sane_ thank you." He bit out, giving Jongdae a malicious stare before going back to Sam, "Sam, please trust in what I'm saying. There is nothing left in this world for you fight for! Your next logical course of action is to swallow your pride and join us. Redemption comes at a price, and this is what you must pay to get it!"

It took Sam several minutes to go over what he was saying. She painfully remembered the horrors she had helped inflict upon the people of Prague. The recollections haunted her every night and for a long time after what had occurred, she couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, and _couldn't breathe_ most days.

There was no feasible way she could allow herself to be apart of something like that again, especially not to save her own ass. It was cowardly to just give in if what he was saying was the truth. Plus, she didn't condone evil acts in name of patriotism, so what would make Greco think she would accept it as hunky dory to do it in the name of being alive one more miserable day accompanied by never-ending guilt? He obviously didn't know her at all if he actually thought she was going to say yes to his proposal.

Greco talked of redemption, of wiping her slate clean, but she knew all of that was lunacy. There could be no going back from what they had done. _You're wrong; it's not possible… And Jess would never forgive me if I took the easy way out…No, I'm not doing this!_

"I…I can't!"

Alina made a disgusted face, "What do you mean _you can't?_ Isn't it obvious enough to you? Fighting back is futile! Come with us now, or you'll end up like your sisters!"

Sam had both admired and despised Alina's forwardness in the past, but now all she could feel was hatred at her harsh words. Deep within her, something began to burn red-hot and Sam regained some of her professional disposition, "Maybe I'm not being obvious enough for _you._ I can't – no, I WON'T go along with this! Both of you have lost your goddamn minds. _There is no redemption for Prague!"_

"Sam, please, I beg you to think-" Greco began.

"No! Dammit, I said NO! I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can take _any of it_ back. None of us can! It doesn't matter what you try and do. All of us are going to inevitably burn for what we did!"

In her way, Sam had anticipated her fate a long time ago. There had been a lot of time to really consider what sort of consequences were in store if their despicable secret ever came to the surface. Agonizingly aware that she couldn't run from her sins forever, she knew that someday she would have to really face it.

Even so, Sam had hoped that she would have just a bit more time to enjoy some living before any phantoms of her previous life came looking for blood. She had stupidly thought once or twice that maybe no one would ever know, and that she could live as if it were all just a bad dream. Her family, Fitz, and even her superiors didn't know the whole story. The life she once led was coming back to ruin her, for all of the sins associated with it were, at that point, set in motion to blow up in her face.

"Sam…"

"Alessio, let it go. She's made up her mind!" Alina began backing up towards the chopper. "We have to leave now! You can't help her anymore!" Greco looked hesitant but he started back stepping as well.

"Don't move!" Jongdae barked. Sam had almost forgotten that he was there, a wild card thrown in the mix. Having him there and on her side was a bonus that no one had expected, and she couldn't deny being appreciative.

"If you shoot, _you die."_ Unhindered, Alina was just as good of a shot as Sam. If she wanted to, she could kill either one of them before they could get out of the way with a precision weapon like her pistol. Even knowing this, Sam moved to go after them. Alina shot the ground in front of her and she stopped. "The next one goes in your head!"

Greco climbed in the chopper and initiated the engine, bringing the formerly still giant to life. Sam filled with dread. If they got away with the data now, the trail would go cold all over again and their fate would be sealed. Everything rested on her next move.

"No! The data!" Jongdae exclaimed as Alina scrambled into the helicopter.

Sam all of a sudden remembered something essential about Alina: she was about the most conceited human being Sam had ever known. She _loved_ to boast about her victories. If Sam could get her to pull the drive out from her pocket, then maybe…

"I bet you're loving this, Alina." Sam sneered. "You always were a terrible winner!"

Alina smirked snootily, "You bet I'm loving it! And there's nothing you can do or say that's going to ruin it for me." She laughed gleefully.

"Oh I'm sure." The chopper began to lift from the platform. "But you see, my old friend, you forgot that I'm smarter than you. That drive you have _is a fake."_

Creasing her forehead, "A fake? Are you fucking kidding me right now? You expect me to believe that you chased after me this entire time for a fake drive?! _Please."_

Sam sassily replied, "I made you think that, you see. In actuality I was pursuing you because you could have been a valuable source of intel. I wanted to catch you so we could interrogate you! Oh and the drive?" Sam patted her hip. "I had the real one the whole time _._ Simply put, you've been duped, you bombastic bitch."

Now the chopper floated several feet off the ground. Alina looked positively stunned, and did just as Sam expected her to do. Taking out the drive from a slot in her tactical vest, she madly wove it around, "Liar! This is the right drive! You-"

 _Checkmate._

The loud crack of gunfire followed by Alina's wailing turned the tide of the situation. Before Sam could discharge a shot, Jongdae surprised her yet another time, by catching on to Sam's plan and impressively disuniting two of her fingers, and the drive fell from her hand, landing in the snow next to her severed phalanges. The chopper continued to rise, and Alina in her frenzy went for the mounted machine gun. Blood cascaded down her arm.

Sam ran for the drive and scooped it up as gunfire showered down on her. She managed to escape it by somersaulting behind a ventilation system in close proximity. Alina turned the gun on Jongdae then - who dashed for the cover of the power station.

Firing witlessly all over the rooftop, Alina screamed like a woman gone crazy. _You're a sore fucking loser too._ Sam got down as far as could and army crawled over to Jongdae. As she went she, out of nowhere, heard static in her earpiece.

Then a recognizable tone of voice ruptured the haze, "Hello…is…someone…come…in…hello…" Sam's heart overflowed with abrupt and intense joy as she realized that it could be only one person: _Jess._

* * *

 **Jessica**

 **Jess and Sehun had searched endlessly all over the basement for Sam to no avail.** The disappointment on Jess's face was apparent, and not bothering to make an effort to hide it. She exclaimed at full volume, "Ugh, I don't get it!"

Sehun had been investigating something nearby, his attention going to her when she spoke. "You don't get what?"

Jess complained, " _Why_ haven't we found her yet? Or even a sign that she was here?" She clenched both fists, "We should have at least found a trail by now, dammit!" Not known for her patience, she was quickly losing her cool.

Sehun was grinning then, "Ah, but look here. I think I've found something."

"What?! Show me!" Jess rushed over to him and he pointed to a red smear on the wall. Seeing it turned her blood to ice. Whoever left this (and she was hoping that it wasn't Sam) left other clues as to the direction they were headed. Further down the hallway they found a smaller pool too. The injured party had undoubtedly fled in this direction.

They followed the corridor a ways until they came to a door to a different stairwell. Jesses shoved open the door and upon examining the first few steps, she noticed projectile holes. Starting to hurry up the stairs, Sehun stopped her, "Maybe they headed outside. We should see if we couldn't find anything useful out there. You might get a signal in your earpiece too."

"And what if _we don't?"_ Jess wasn't trying to take her frustration out on him, but her tone implied the contrary. It wasn't fair because he was just trying to help. Nothing against him that regard, but she wasn't about to be concerned with being nice until she saw her sister alive again.

"Then we come back in and search the other floors – whatever we have to do to find them." Sehun had his arms crossed, "I want to find them just as badly as you do, Agent Wilson. Don't think I'm about to give up if there's nothing helpful out there, but we have to try. It makes sense that they would flee this way." He came across so sternly when he articulated that Jess opted to back off and trust him – at the slightest, for now at any rate.

It struck Jess as odd that they didn't run into any of the contestants on their trek to the exterior. Maybe most of them had already made it out of the building. In any event, she had to stay focused on the task at hand and just hope that no one else had to die trying to get to safety.

Outside of the structure, the frIgid airstream was bitter and harsh. Jess shivered against the cold, grabbing both arms and rubbing them furiously. _Fuck I should have grabbed my coat. Why does it have to be SO DAMN COLD?!_

Sehun saw how she gritted her teeth, trying to warm her bare arms in opposition to the freezing current of air. Being a gentleman (or a least attempting to be one), he took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her. He started massaging the warmth of it into her skin, and she instantly wasn't cold anymore, as his sudden action made her flush feverishly.

The jacket was so long that the length of it went past her kneecaps. Shyly, she tugged it closed over her nose, trying to hide the color. But this only made the heat in her cheeks even hotter. _I can smell your cologne…Oh my god the fragrance is wonderful!_

"Better?" Sehun asked in a sultry voice, grinning promiscuously and still stroking her arms. _Yes…but…no! Oh FUCK. I can deal with you even less when you do sweet things than when you're being annoying._

"Y-Yeah…better…thanks…" She fast walked away from him and he stared after her, continuing to smile. Jess had only gone a short distance when a hum in her ear caught her awareness. A hand went to her earpiece and she double-tapped the button hopefully.

"Hello? Is someone there? Come in!" Only the sound of stillness responded. "Hello…?" The signal was weak but she could make out someone trying to push through the static.

"…this…I'm…here...Jess…come…do you…me?" Jess's chest ached at hearing the voice. _Oh please let it be you, Sam!_ She advanced some more from the building and the tactic worked to boost the clarity of the transmission.

"Hello? Come…in…Jess! It's me…! Come in!" Sam's frantic voice on the other end both alarmed and relieved her. Her eldest sibling was alive after all. Wanting to jump in delight but keeping both feet steadfastly planted on the ground, Jess turned to face the convention center.

"Sam, is that you?! _Where the fuck are you?!"_

"Jess! I'm…the roof!" The youngest looked up to the top of the building from where she stood but didn't see anything at first. "Jess, I need…help. We're…pinned down." Then she saw it: a helicopter hovered into view and audible bursts of light shot from it in all directions. _Fuck._

Sehun was beside her, listening in on her conversation and staring up to the rooftop. His face fell when he noticed the chopper and automatic gunfire. "Sam! Tell me your position!"

"On the west side…behind…power station. Please, get…the fuck off of this roof!" Sam pleaded. _And how am I supposed to do_ _ **THAT**_ _?_ Glancing around frantically, she wracked her brain for anything that could be helpful. _If only I had a giant net or something! Dammit, what do I do?!_

"Hey," Jess turned to Sehun, her eyes feral with terror, "I have an idea. Wait here." Then he raced away. _Where in the hell are_ _ **you**_ _going?_

Jess called after him, "Hey, wait just a minute!" But he was already gone.

"Jess…hurry…. _please."_ In the distance the machine gun fire would subside for a moment and then pick right back up again. They were out of time; they needed to do something now, or Sam and the other agent would be dead for sure. _Whatever you have planned, Mr. Oh, you had better be freakin' quick about it!_

And to Jess's surprise, a large open compost truck came barreling around the side of the building at her wishful request, Sehun at the wheel. _What in the world…?!_ He honked the horn at her and she ran up to the diver side window of the truck. "What…?"

"My plan," Sehun began, leaning out the window on his elbow, "is to have them scale the side of the building as far as they can, and then jump down into the back of the truck! What do you think? Pretty clever right?" He looked so proud of himself, but Jess was nevertheless skeptical.

"Scale the building _with what_ , exactly? And you want them to jump into a heap of… _garbage?_ " She wrinkled her nose.

"No not _directly_ into the garbage," He showed her a large, folded over tarp in the passenger seat. "We can use this tarp to keep them from being cut on anything in the back."

"Great but you still didn't answer my first question."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Tell your sister to tell Agent Kim – the guy that's with her – to check his left breast pocket. I left him a little gift."

"Okaaay." She radioed Sam and told her what to say. A moment later she heard what she thought was 'Sehun, you glorious bastard'. Sam then told her that he had some sort of special-looking wire stuffed in the pocket lining of his jacket.

"Special wire?" Jess looked to Sehun for more answers.

"A cable that the lab came up with just last week. Flexible, durable, waterproof, versatile wiring that you can use for just about anything. I put it in hyung's pocket when he wasn't looking. He _is_ always complaining that he never seems to have what he needs, so the lab made this especially for him at my request."

Sehun cheesed to himself and Jess smile some too. She would have to remind herself in the future not to underestimate his capabilities as an agent. He took his job seriously (somewhat) after all.

Jess clamored up into the passenger side of the truck, and Sehun pulled it over to the west side of the building. Together they got out and pulled the plastic sheeting over the truck, securing it with some heavy bags of particularly ghastly-smelling trash. Both of them backed away, looking up and Jess conveyed to Sam the plan.

Jess sensed the lack of enthusiasm in Sam's voice, "Seriously…damn…ok…no… problem…" _Is she reassuring Agent Kim or herself?_ Knowing her, she was gonna put on a brave face regardless, and that was definitely more for her benefit than his. _Yeah, she's talking to herself for sure. I'll buy you some industrial-strength soap after this too._

One way or another too, the agents on the below had to distract whomever it was firing at them long enough for the twosome to get down the building. Jess had a hunch that Greco was in the copter so she tapped her earpiece once and spoke directly to him, "Agent Greco. I know you can hear me so _listen up._ "

Sehun came around from the other side as she continued, "I know for a fact that you don't want to do this, that you don't really want to kill Sam." There was no reply at first so she kept going, "No, I would bet money that you even tried to offer her some sort of deal out of it."

Sam could hear the entire conversation, obviously – everyone was probably listening in - but only Greco replied, "What do you proceed to know about my intentions, Agent Wilson?"

"Not much, Greco, but I do know that my sister loved you once, and you must have loved her too at some point. Otherwise, you would have flown that chopper all the way around the building to _make sure_ that you killed her." It was true, the helicopter remained idle as it fired, and even he couldn't deny that fact.

So he didn't, "…you are correct about one thing. I did once, but not so much now." _Ouch. Two-faced bastard._ "I do, however, think that sitting here is a waste of time. We really do have somewhere we need to be." _Who in the fuck is this_ _ **we?**_

She heard him speak so someone – whom shouted obscenities back – and the next thing Jess knew, the chopper was hovering higher above the convention center than earlier and starting to rotate around. As he argued with the other person, the gunfire stopped. A minute or so later, two bodies climbed over the side of the building, clinging for dear life to the cable.

The other person shouted something exceptionally nasty and then fired several more rounds onto the roof. Sam and Agent Kim stopped moving as the bullets bounced off of the piping, heading in every direction. _Don't stop now! Keep going!_

Agent Kim was hanging on below Sam – who glanced at him wordlessly. He seemed to understand, for he began gently sliding down the cable with her close behind. The chopper didn't continue its journey away from the two, but instead headed back towards where they had been before.

 _Shit!_ Jess and Sehun gazed uneasily at each other, and Jess shouted, "Get out of there, NOW!"

Panic set in above, and Agent Kim slid a long ways down the cable. Sam went to match his speed, but she was brought to a halt like a deer on the highway by the copter's glaring spotlights. "SAM!"

Thankfully, Sam didn't wait around for the impact of the bullets as she promptly glided out of the way just in time. In spite of this, the rapid fire caused the wire to weave and wobble back and forth violently. The force was too much for them to handle and they both released their holds, falling downwards.

Jess and Sehun frightfully yelled for their individual companions as they descended. On the bright side, Sam and Agent Kim landed right in the tarp. The bad news was that the collision with it was severe. The other two ran to the back of the truck, fearing the worst.

Lingering for only a second, the copter ultimately went to head away from the scene. Either they had decided that the pair were dead, or Greco and his companion were at long last in agreement that they had to keep their schedule. Whatever the case, Jess was just glad to see it disappear into the blackness.

 _If I ever see your big-nosed, ugly mug again, I'll fucking kill you…with my bare hands._ Jess peeked over the side of the truck, and found that both Sam and Agent Kim appeared to be mostly all right. Perhaps the fall was more detrimental for the duo, because they were clinging to each other with death grips.

 _Well, aren't you two adorable-looking?_ Jess smiled to herself and Sehun was grinning too. "Hyung, should we come back later?" he joked. Agent Kim instantly popped his head up and reddened, letting go of Sam's torso. She looked a little embarrassed too, her cheeks the same shade as her shirt, and Jess let out a laugh.

Sehun helped Agent Kim down and the shorter man told his friend, "Not another word about it." Then he embraced Sehun happily. Jess was assisting Sam in getting out of the truck after that. She jumped in her sister's arms, when her sibling's feet met the pavement.

"SAAAAAM! I thought you were dead!" Jess buried her face in her the eldest's shoulder, trying not to start sobbing.

"You were scared?" Sam set her sister down and Jess looked up into her cheerful face, "Greco told me that you were dead!"

"He did what!? Ugh, I swear I'll rip his tongue out some day for spewing so many lies!" The tears discontinued and her fury came back.

"I'm just glad that it was a lie." Sam hugged Jess once more.

Behind them Sehun asked, "Ahem…I don't mean to break up your family reunion, but you do still have the data, right?"

Letting go of Jess, Sam reached in and pulled out the drive, "Yes I do. It got away from me…but I got it back." Agent Kim grumbled and she added irritably, " _With some help._ I told, , " Both Sam and Jess were facing the two foreign agents now. "It's in very capable hands."

The four of them stared at each other for an exceptionally extensive period, a current flowing through the air along with the snow. They had all been through quite the ordeal together, and were at present neck deep in a conspiracy that went further into left field than any of them could have anticipated. It was crazy and very unlikely that things would have turned out as they had. Also, it seemed as though none of them were going to be able to just walk away.

Unable to endure the electrifying silence any longer Jess pointed out, "We should probably find our ride out of here, and contact Fitz, tell him what happened. I'm guessing that we're going to have a lot to talk about."


	7. Chapter 7

_We are kept keen on the grindstone of pain and necessity._ **– H.G. Wells**

 **Samantha**

" **No! A thousand times fucking NO!"** Jess proclaimed so loudly that Fitz instantaneously went to shush her. Not wanting anyone to overhear what the three of them were discussing, mostly for security reasons, Fitz grumbled, "Shhh, not so loud, special agent!" Jess gave him a mean glare.

The concerned handler was dragging their very hush-hush meeting on longer than what he had told the director it would be. He spent the last hour and a half giving both of them an earful all while questioning them relentlessly. _He is seriously like a mother hen sometimes._

It had already been a long night, and Sam felt absolutely drained. But by the way she sat coolly in her chair, no one would be the wiser to her secret desire to pass out where she sat. Jess on the other hand was making most of the time they sat stuck in the stuffy, small interrogation room by counter-arguing everything Fitz said in response to their story.

Sam was so tired of being grilled in these rooms of late that she swore to herself she would sock the next person that insisted she go in one. What was point of extending their stay in here? They needed to get back to work. There was so much they had to do – decoding that flash drive for one thing and then they had to follow up on where Greco and Alina had gone.

Free time getting cross-examined again was not something they could afford to sacrifice. The messiness of the situation hadn't changed from a few hours ago, and all she wanted to do was to get to the bottom of what was happening. She might be able to sleep tonight, but surely not for long.

* * *

After locating an intact getaway vehicle – Greco had made sure to obliterate the other or at least the fiery wreckage suggested as much. They contacted Fitz - who blew a fuse just as expected, upon getting the initial part of the story. He demanded that instead of being taken back to their hotel that the four of them be taken to a disclosed location for the debriefing.

The driver received the coordinates and they were off. Behind them, the convention center burned brightly against the night sky as Sam watched it disappear over the horizon. The sight of it and the recent memory of what had transpired pressed heavily on her. The sinking feeling that all of her grief was something that she inflicted upon herself was making her ill.

Sam did not speak or look at anyone the whole way there, concealing her facial expressions as best as she could. Jess was doing the same, except for the couple of times she attempted to make eye contact with her sibling. The eldest reluctantly avoided the youngest's gaze each time, shame and regret making her feel vulnerable. She didn't want anyone, including Jess, to know that her thoughts and emotions were tearing up her insides.

Jongdae and Sehun also kept quiet during the trip. But they were also collectively keeping their eyes mostly fixated on the two women. It was like they had never been told that staring was rude. Naturally, this was attempted to be completely ignored, and was overall a success.

Sam did, however, recall an annoyingly nervous sweat breaking out, sidetracking her gloomy thoughts temporarily just before they arrived. It was nice to feel some of the burden lift, even for a short time, but she also really wasn't in the mood for their antics. Additionally, she was worried that Jongdae's gaze was a critical one, and she certainly didn't want to deal with _that_ realization if it turned out to be the reason behind his ogling.

The ride was graciously short-lived, and Fitz was waiting outside for them when they reached their destination. The drop-off was a run down looking place to put it mildly. Unassuming as can be, the old, decrepit apartment building in the middle of nowhere loomed menacingly over them in the dark. Everyone filed out of the van respectively, and Sam walked right up to Fitz when she spotted him leaning against the decaying wall beside the front entrance.

When Fitz saw that everyone was present, he introduced himself to Jongdae and Sehun. Once that was done, all of them followed him inside single file. The building crumbled and creaked around them as the walked down hallways and through back rooms to reach an access hatch hidden under the stove in the employee kitchen. Fitz bent down and pressed something on the underside of the inside of the oven, and the floor shifted to reveal a ladder heading down into obscurity.

Pulling a glow stick from his coat, he began descending as he broke the stick against his hip, sending enough shadows away to make it safe to go after him. Everyone climbed down into what looked like a giant steel box with an elevator-style set of automatic doors on the far side. Fitz handed the glow stick to Sam and proceeded to talk to thin air, while looking around to make sure that all were still in attendance.

"Alright, now that everyone's been accounted for… The eagles and the larks have flown back to the nest." Rumbling overhead - the ceiling shifting and the hatch closing - made the majority turn around to watch. Next, the unsuspecting in the room were blinded by the intensity of a sudden flood of florescent light.

"Ah, my eyes!" Sehun whined, covering his face. The others shielded their eyes too, except for Fitz – who just chuckled. Sam cursed him under her breath, making him laugh harder. She remembered him pulling things like that with her when she was starting out just to get a rise out of her. It was irritating back then and still somewhat irksome now. Overall, it made her smile to see him being jolly and joking and thinking about it made some of the dread and despair dissipate.

"You could have said 'lights coming on'!" Jess growled.

"My mistake, special agent. Must have…slipped my mind." Fitz let out another laugh. "I will warn you to stay still for this next part though."

Everyone froze as a laser shot back and forth through the room. Sam closed her eyes when it changed direction and scanned them from head to toe. A buzzer sounded and she opened her eyes as the doors revealed a foyer and a woman sitting at a front desk. Fitz casually approached the desk and the woman, an attractive Korean lady, greeted them cheerfully.

"Good evening, Mr. Fitz. Please, use the leftmost door and follow the hall to the end. You'll find Director Kim waiting for all of you." _Kim?_ Sam turned to look back at Jongdae who shook his head. _Oh, I see, a different Mr. Kim. Okay…_

Fitz bowed to her graciously and she complied as everybody headed to the door, the first in a long line of very similar ones. Sam wondered what sort of secrets lay hidden beyond each threshold. Honestly, she should make more of a point to stifle her curiosity, if for no other reason than it landed her in hot water more often than not. Lost in her thoughts, she was the last person in line before she knew it and had to jog to catch up.

The room they entered at the end of the hallway was enormous, covered in monitors, computers, desks, and people. The place was bustling with activity, and a man stood in front of the largest monitor (big enough to cover an entire wall) directed everything like a traffic cop during rush hour. He noticed the crowd right away, a smile spreading across his attractive face as Jongdae and Sehun made their way past the rest of the group to him.

"Excellent, you've both come back to us in one piece! You look a little roughed up…but otherwise intact." The man let out a hearty snicker as he pretended to inspect them and the two quickly joined in his laugher.

And additional two individuals came up to them through the activity all around them, one very tall with adorable ears and a deep voice sporting a pair of crutches, the other: a skinnier man with a sweet face and gentle eyes. The thinner one ran up and threw his arms around both Jongdae and Sehun at the same time. "Oh, you're back! I'm so happy!"

"You're not dead! That's always a good thing." The taller man joked, punching Jongdae playfully in the arm. Agent Kim smiled up at him endearingly while he rubbed his arm. All of the men in the group looked around, smirking and chuckling with each other. _They must all be good friends or something. I know I don't get usually get along with my coworkers_ _ **that well**_ _unless I really trust them._

Fitz let them socialize a moment longer before strolling over to interrupt them. "Excuse me, Director, I require a private room to debrief my agents if you please. After which I'd like to go over everything with you and decide where to go from there." After mentioning the lone women, all of the men glanced at them and Jess moved a little closer to Sam instinctually.

"Of course. My apologies, Mr. Fitz." The director stepped through the congregation and shook Fitz's hand, and Fitz bowed to the man. Turning to Sam and Jess, "Welcome, agents. Please, follow me this way." He let go of Fitz's hand and headed towards an exit on the far side of the cavernous command center.

They went to follow after Fitz, but the women found their path impeded by the skinny man and the other guy with the crutches. "Hello!" exclaimed the skinny man, bowing cheerfully to Jess and Sam, "I am Yixing…erm, I mean Agent Zhang…but you can call me Yixing!" He flushed some at the missed formality.

"Uh, hi…Special Agent Wilson," Sam held out her hand to shake Yixing's but the guy with the crutches grabbed it before he could, his crutch smashing down on the unsuspecting man's foot.

"Ow! Watch it!" Yixing pulled his foot out from under it with a grunt, but his complaint was largely disregarded.

"Agent Park – Chanyeol, please." His profound voice and the genuine grin he gave her were captivating. _Hmm, a charmer, are you? No offense but I really don't need another one in my life right now._

"Pleased to meet you. This is-" Sam gestured to her sister - who immediately piped in.

"I'm Special Agent Wilson too – Jess. She's Sam." Yixing was quick to be the first one to shake Jess's hand, sliding smoothly in front of Chanyeol.

Yixing held Jess's hand with both of his hands kindly and beamed innocently at her. "Can I call you Jess then? I might get confused with two Agent Wilsons." A little pink colored her cheeks as he leaned closer while he spoke.

"No, you'll definitely get confused." Chanyeol said to his friend before going back to Sam, "Do you mind if we skip the formalities all around? We don't really care for them or use them regularly, so it's better that way!"

"Um, sure…that's fine..." Sam replied, realizing that Chanyeol had convinced her far too easily. _At least these two are more pleasant than the other ones._

"Ahem." Director Kim spoke sternly, "Chanyeol, Yixing - please allow our guests to pass. We all have a lot of work to do. You can get to know them better on your _own time."_

Yixing spun and asked the director, "Does that mean they're sticking around!?" To Jess excitedly, "It was very nice to meet both of you. Sorry to be in your way! I hope we'll see each other again soon." Jess nodded silently, blushing harder as she hurriedly darted towards Fitz.

Sam bowed to Chanyeol and Yixing, "A pleasure meeting you too."

"See you around, Sam." He said with a smirk and Sam made sure not to let him see her becoming almost as red as her sibling. The way in which Chanyeol phased his words made her think he might be flirting, but a quick look in Jongdae's direction changed her perspective.

In a green bubble of what appeared to be resentment stood Jongdae and Sehun, seething at their friends' interaction with she and Jess. _Don't tell me you two are actually_ _ **jealous.**_ Sam smiled to herself, making a mental note to fill Jess in later about what she saw

As Sam finally reached the rest of the departing group, the director showed them the way to an empty room with just a table and a few chairs. "Let me know if you need anything. In the meantime, I'll be just in the next room going over things with my agents."

"Will do, Director. We shouldn't be more than an hour or so. Then I will come and meet with you." Director Kim nodded and after he closed the door behind him, Jess and Sam filled Fitz in on the night's events.

* * *

"You can protest all you like, special agent, but we're staying put. I understand that you've both been through a lot, but the board has already made up their minds on the subject." Fitz shifted in his seat, "You'll both be accommodated with your own work space and living quarters tomorrow."

Jess groaned, " _Fine_. But fuck the board; I don't have to _like it!"_

"No, you certainly do not. I do have to insist that you try to be as civil as possible with the other agents. We aren't trying to cause any international incidents." Fitz rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, sure be civil." Jess's sarcastic tone of voice made Fitz scowl, but he admitted defeat by not pressing her about it further. He then looked at Sam – who had stayed quite during the exchange.

"Wilson, as I understand it, Alina Vodovos and Alessio Greco were part of an operation with you a few years back? You said they kept going on about this previous mission, saying the people involved are somehow connected to our current situation. What exactly do you know, agent?"

Both Fitz and Jess stared at her now, and she felt the urge to get up and run from the room. Anything had to be better than going over Prague with them, a mission she had buried for good reason and wasn't trying to relive. However, it appeared as though the fates had other plans, forcing the painful experience to once again rear its ugly head. She would have to face the music sooner or later, but she decided if it had to be sooner, she was going to take it at her own pace.

"I'm not entirely sure to be honest. They talked about old adversaries and whatnot, but any enemies we made back in the day are long dead." Sam took in a gulp of air and continued, "It's ridiculous really - talk of world domination and mass genocide like they were a couple of comic book villains. And then they asked me to join in their fanaticism, as if I would ever agree to something like that… They've lost their minds, Fitz, but I promise to go over the old case files personally to see if what they said is of any merit."

"I see…" She figured she hadn't entirely convinced him. Regardless, she had hoped that maybe her friend would cut her some slack and not ask anything more about it – at least for the time being. He sighed, "Alright, but the board is going to want a full report on what you find. In the meantime, Sam, you've been assigned to the tech lab, trying to decode the information on the drive you've recovered."

To Jess now, "Special agent, you'll be stationed in the command center, working on figuring out where the rogue agents have gone and tracking down any additional leads you can find. You'll have all the personnel and resources you need. That means _cooperating_ with the people here. "

Jess huffed, "Yeah, I get it. _Be good._ Gotcha. Can we go now? Some of us need a nap and _a_ shower." She nodded in Sam's direction and the eldest look aghast, sniffing her collar self-consciously.

"Alright, alright. I need to see to Director Kim anyway. Both of you be well prepared for tomorrow." Fitz stood up and they mimicked him. Jess unsurprisingly beat everyone out the door. The handler stopped Sam before she could leave.

"How did I get stuck playing ambassador _and_ babysitter for you again?"

 _Oh this old joke, huh?_ "Because no one watches my back better than you do, Adrian Fitz. I'd be hopelessly lost without my mother bear to watch over me."

"Watch it, Wilson. You're still in trouble." He winked and smiled at her. "Now, get out of here and get rested. We're gonna need you operating at optimum efficiency in the morning."

"Damn, Adrian, I'm a person not a toaster." Sam laughed a little, feeling more at ease than she had all evening, knowing he was here and not angry with her for dragging him into another one of her messes. _I'm not worthy of your friendship. I swear I'll pay you back someday._

"Ever the smart-ass. Put the wit to rest, I'm too old and too tired for your shit tonight, Wilson." It was unorthodox but no one was watching, so fuck it, Sam wrapped her arms around Fitz's neck and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're here, Adrian. I couldn't do this without you." Letting him go, "We're gonna get to the bottom of this. I'll make sure of it."

"I know you will, Sam. I know. And remember: be here bright and early."

* * *

Bright and early was no joke either. Sam got a message from Fitz to get out of bed around 5:30 am, leaving her to go on nothing but fumes for the entire day. She sighed angrily into her pillow and decided she would get even by stopping for coffee on the way and being "fashionably late". Jess would be game for sure; she wasn't a morning person either.

Dressed and out the door after much effort around 6:45 am, she and Jess were met by their private driver in the lobby on the way out. They bribed the driver into making a pit stop for some much needed caffeine and were well on their way to arriving on time. Sam, however, told the driver to take it slow so they could enjoy the scenery. Jess approved, sipping on her coffee, looking like she would rather melt into the upholstery than go to work.

 _I can relate._ Fitz messaged her phone again as they arrived. He was distressed about their tardiness and trying to hide it with no success. Sure, it might be immature to put him through this, but he worried too much. They would just blame the traffic or something anyway and the view on the way there was totally worth it.

If they had to suffer working alongside the agents from last night, they sure as hell were going to try and enjoy themselves a little so they didn't lose it. Fitz was aware that they would probably be difficult, but he still tried to keep them in line anyway, for the sake of not losing his job almost exclusively. Eventually, he would get over it; he's worked with her long enough to understand and except how she does things.

Sam got results – the most important thing. Plus, he agreed with most of her opinions or at least was willing to listen to them. Surely, she wasn't the most brilliant agent ever to join the agency, but she was intelligent and creative, giving her an edge that really paid off in everything she did. And even though he was tough on Jess, Fitz knew that she was a capable and respected her thoughts and unique viewpoint. She often surprise everyone with a new perspective that turned out to be exactly what they needed in whatever situation it happened to be.

Together, Fitz couldn't ask for a better pair of agents to work on something as monumental as the crisis at hand. Jess and Sam had their flaws like anyone else, but they gave their all to the job every time. So he was going to scold them like a concerned parent, but Sam no longer worried after last night's chewing that he would do anything but be mad for a minute before brushing it off.

As the door to the command center opened, Sam and Jess were welcomed by Fitz's grumpy face. Jess let out an irritated grumble and pushed past him. He would have to give her hell after she was awake and settle for making Sam's morning instead. _Always nice to see you this early too, Adrian._

"You're 'prompt and on time' my ass, Wilson." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't quote my resume at me at this time of morning. I swear it won't happen again, but next time give me more warning about working the morning shift." Sam gulped her coffee, feeling satisfied that her sass was flawless even she was exhausted. _Good, I need to be on my game today._

"Gotta keep you on your toes. You'll get too comfortable and we can't have that." _You're just full of jokes lately, aren't you? Ugh, I need to get away from you before they start to get annoying._ _Time to leave!_

"Well, gotta go, lots of work to do!" Sam went to depart, but Fitz apparently wasn't letting her off the hook that easily.

He bellowed, "Hey, hold up."

Exasperated, "Yeah, what? I really do have a lot to do and–"

"The lab is in the other direction." He pointed to an elevator behind her, "Take the elevator down two floors and take a left when you get off." Fitz's smirking was almost as maddening this early as his sense of humor. "Good luck, eager beaver."

"Oh my god, Adrian." Sam covered her face and jogged for the elevator as Fitz laughed at his reference to his nickname for her as a rookie. It was just embarrassing enough to send her running for the nearest exit. _Jeez, you are such a dork._

Being in the elevator alone felt great after that and Sam let out a long breath. She felt that she could relax a little, looking forward to drowning in some work as opposed to dealing with any more people before she reached the bottom of her cup. Stopping on the floor before hers, the door opened and a familiarly handsome face stared at her blankly and then tried to hide an instantaneously mischievous smile. _Fuck._ _So much for_ _ **relaxing**_ _!_

Agent Kim Jongdae stepped onto the elevator and turned his back to her, still trying vainly to cover up his expression. It was an unusually long and awkward ride down to her floor. With every second that passed, her heart pounded harder against her chest cavity. She hated his freaking grin, but adored it all at once. It was really too bad that the most beautiful smile she had ever laid eyes on belonged to _him._

At last when the elevator came to a rest on her floor, she darted out of it, wanting to be as far away from the infuriating man as possible. Her escape was brought to a halt briefly. Hearing his voice felt like something out of a dream, "Have a wonderful first day at work, Agent Wilson. See you soon, I'm sure." The pounding became sorta painful. _Fucking smug bastard, how do you keep having this effect on me?!_

Sam shockingly kept her composure, even though she was certain she was having a heart attack. Wanting to retort something smart but opting for a more courteousness and only slightly agitat ed response, "See you around, Agent Kim." She eyeballed him suspiciously. _What are you up to…? No good probably._

Jongdae laughed and bowed to her and as the elevator doors closed, she could have sworn she saw him his features transform into something softer, something more sincere. Obviously, he enjoyed making her feel awkward, but for a second it appeared as though he was happy to be looking at her, enjoying the opportunity to be speaking to her. That, of course, was in all likelihood her imagination inventing conclusions that her heart wanted to hear. _Focus dammit._

Making her designated left, she ventured through the tech lab entrance. Inside, there were colossal rooms enclosed by glass walls. People scurried about and chatted amongst themselves, oblivious to her presence. She always hated introducing herself to new coworkers, the silent fear that she would end up getting off on the wrong foot with them creeping at the back of her mind. Finding herself feeling apprehensive about getting used to a new environment was not a new experience for her, but she still wavered in the wake of being sociable anyway.

On the bright side, a voice that she recognized almost instantly did much to life her spirits. "Hey, Sam! I mean, Agent Wilson…" The squeaky, shaky tone of her lab assistant from the states, Horus Carver, lightened the loud of the anxiety. Sam looked to him with a brilliant grin.

"Horus! What are you doing here?" The younger man approached her and she shook his hand enthusiastically. He was the same height as her, but built like a typical nerd with a scrawny body and unruly, curly hair.

"Special request to upper management. I just got the news last night that you'd be stationed here for a while, so I went to the board and begged them to fly me over so I could assist you. Couldn't leave you to go over all of that data on your own!" He began to babble then, "Not that you couldn't do it or anything! I mean I just wanted to-"

"Horus, please, enough. I'm glad you're here; it'll make decoding the drive that much easier." Sam chugged the rest of her coffee and disposed of the cup in a nearby bin.

"Speaking of which," He smiled from ear to ear at her acknowledgment of his much needed services, "I've already started uploading the information and boy is there a lot of it!" Turning swiftly, he strode over to a huge monitor with several stacks of computer towers surrounding it like fortress walls. "As you can see," He pointed to the screen and the data being automatically separated into folders, "we have our work cut out for us."

"I thought that might be the case… Were you able to decipher any of it yet?" Sam placed a hand on her chin and stared at the monitor, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the shear amount of records they had on hand. It wasn't typical to have this much, but it could never be as easy as just getting the data. It was very likely that they could spend a week unlocking the information in just one folder and not even scratch the surface.

"Nothing very useful yet. Most of the easily decrypted stuff is just names of the victims and some of their personal records." Seeing Sam's face drop faintly, Horus added, "But that's why our tech expert is here. The more complex algorithms may be out of everyone else's league but not _yours!"_

"We'll see about that… How much more does the computer have to upload?" Horus rubbed his neck as Sam made herself comfortable at the massive desk.

"I'd say maybe six more hours worth. Like I said, there's a lot of it."

"Well, if we have to wait, we should sift through what's been logged already to see if we can't find something more substantial than car insurance registrations. Pull up a chair, Horus. We're gonna be hear for a while."

* * *

It was around 2:30 in the afternoon before she knew it, and her body ached for more caffeine to combat the sleepiness. Luckily, all of that time had been productive. She and Horus had uncovered some hidden information in some of the personal records. The encryption on the files was done by no amateur and it took Sam several hours just to get past all of the firewalls (there were at least four).

When she finally did, Horus rejoiced audibly, "You did it! I wasn't sure if you were gonna be able to figure out that last one."

"Have more faith, Horus! I've seen some of these formulas before, and the rest sort of played out like one of those cryptoquotes, placing symbols in designated areas according to previously discovered match-ups." She always loved those games in the newspaper, feeling clever every time she was able to un-code one as a child.

"I meant no disrespect, ma'am." Sam sighed as she moved the decrypted file to the desktop and opened it.

"What did I say about calling me that? I may outrank you, but your input is important to me, Horus. I've told you before, I need you to be open with me. We'll get more done if we-"

A danger message popped up on the screen, indicating that a virus attached to the file was attempting to wipe the hard drive. Sighing again as Horus turned white, she quickly ran a scan on the document. After locating the virus, Sam keyed in a complex code and the virus was quickly scrubbed from the computer before it could do any damage.

"Well, it seems as though whoever this belongs to had a counterattack planned in case we got past the initial security. Good plan stuffing that virus in there to stop anyone trying to view anything."

Sam again went to open the document as Horus observed, "Must be some pretty incriminating stuff in there. I'll make sure to clean-up the other files too for you."

The pictures and reports that popped up on the screen were indeed very implicating. Most of the imagery was of various important figures around the world that had already been taken or listed to be abducted next. Sam began a quick read over a ledger of names and locations, and discovered that the intent behind the kidnappings was not to simply take and kill people but to preserve their lives long enough for some grand purpose.

It was not specifically outlined, however, as to what exact function all of those people were supposed to serve. The breakthrough did make Sam hopeful about Kristen's well being though; it meant she was still alive and that was definitely something. When she took her much needed break, she would make sure to tell Jess all about it first.

"This is…incredible! Horus, do you realize what this proves?!" Sam grabbed both of his arms and he looked a tad uneasy at her fervor, "It means that not only are the victims alive, but we know who they're targeting and we can warn people before more get taken! It's not gonna stop the operation, but it will at least slow them down!"

"That's great! Does it say anything else?" He did his best not to appear afraid but they both knew that Sam intimidated the crap out of him.

Going back to the files, she set aside several of them and the sight of a few of the last images suddenly made her stomach churn. She paused for a moment and then scanned the ledgers once more before leaning back slowly in her chair.

"What? What did you find?"

Sam didn't reply right way, her thoughts darting sporadically about her head. Finally she spoke, "They…they aren't just targeting politicians and dignitaries…they're targeting government officials. More specifically," She got up and allowed Horus to get a better view of the screen, "They're targeting _agents_. Somehow, they've obtained information on the whereabouts and identities of high-ranking individuals – which is impossible unless you have top clearance. So the game show and entertainment company was complete hoax invented just to gather common folk, and as for everyone else…they're being taken right _from their beds."_

"My god…what does that mean? Are they after you?!" Gazing over everything, Horus was noticeably nervous about her answer.

"No, not me…but a couple of people that I've met." She nodded to the screen, "Agent Kim Jongdae and Mr. Oh Sehun are scheduled to be seized next. Horus…that means that someone in their organization is _a traitor."_ Sam looked around to make sure none of the other workers could hear her, "We have to tell Fitz right away…but we can't be too obvious about it."

Becoming panicky, "Oh wow…ok…um, what do you want me to do?"

"Stay here and work for now. Act as if nothing is wrong, but be on your guard. I'll be back as soon as I can." Smiling nonchalantly at him, "Well, off to lunch! See you in a bit!" And with that she walked to the exit and headed straight to command center, leaving Horus alone to solely deal with his unease. Unfortunately, there wasn't any time to waste on making sure he kept his cool. He would just have to hold on until she returned.

Sam had to get to Fitz before anyone else learned of what they had discovered and fast. The fact of the matter was that with all of the heavy security and top-notch tech in the building, it was more likely than not that someone already knew. Still, she had to try; she had to prevent anyone else falling prey to the sinister whims of her dark past.

 _Please let me be on time to save him…erm, to save_ _ **them**!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven._ **– William Shakespeare**

Jessica

 **Jess's already unpleasant mood soured further upon seeing Fitz's ugly mug so early in the morning.** _Ugh, not this crap right now. I haven't woken up yet._ Jess moved past him without so much as a 'good morning' and headed for the front of the command center.

For everyone's safety it was best he stay away from her until she felt good and caffeinated. She was just going to snap at him anyway, so he would have to be satisfied with only interacting with Sam. Not that Sam was much of a morning person either, but at the moment she was much more equipped to be civil.

Grateful that neither Sam nor Fitz protested against her all-in-all rude behavior, she scanned the room looking for a place to sit. Anxiety swept over her as she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was supposed to go. As she began to mentally kicked herself for not inquiring about her station before her dramatic push past Fitz, a deep voice beckoned to her from off to her right.

"Agent Jess! Over here!" Chanyeol very invitingly waved her over as he leaned over a digital display table. Not wanting to embarrass herself further, she strode over to the ridiculously tall man and took a chair opposite him. He sgrinned cheekily at her.

"Good morning! Ah, so wonderful to make your acquaintance again so soon. But you look so tired. Trouble sleeping?"

 _Oh god, please don't hit on me._ "More like not enough time sleeping, but that's what this is for." Jess raised her cup of coffee (or rather her cup of sugar with a hint of coffee) to Chanyeol as if to toast. Then she took a long swig of it, internally drilling herself to remain calm and not turn red.

She found it extremely obnoxious that she blushed so easily. In her defense all of the agents they had encountered so far where undeniably attractive. Keeping her composure was a struggle when facing such a horde of sexy individuals all at once.

Chanyeol chuckled sincerely as he moved digital objects around the table. From where she sat, it looked as though he was reconstructing the convention center from last night. It was certainly an impressive piece of tech he was using, one she had only just heard about until now. She was mesmerized by the detail alone on the holographic shapes as she watched parts swift around, seamlessly fitting together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Suddenly, she discovered a reason to be a little more motivated for the task at hand.

They would be finitely going over the events, putting together what had happened in hopes of finding a clue as to the whereabouts of Sam's previous colleagues. Jess was unsure that they would find anything useful, but the scene where it all went down was nonetheless a good place to start.

She had to admit that it had been one hell of a ride so far, one she could never have anticipated or ever forget. Her eldest sibling had a deeper connection out of nowhere with their investigation, turning it into an international conspiracy. This made her worry about Sam, and made her wary of all of the secrecy associated with what her eldest actually knew. She was after all the only viable witness to whatever the fuck transpired in Prague.

 _ **Prague**_ _-_ __some nightmare that Sam never spoke about and had insisted - with some protest from her sibling - that Jess never ask about. The youngest assumed Sam had a good enough reason not to share, seeing as they dealt in confidential, under the radar, and "off the books" on a regular basis. So she kept quiet, only ever knowing that it was an experience that Sam wanted to really forget, because it was a 'rough time in her early career.'

Jess tried to be respectful of that and she was, but her courtesy was poorly rewarded with one sister gone missing, kidnapped by terrorists, plus the possibility that the other sister was somehow fucking responsible.

No one could have trained her for this big of a crisis. Although all of this made her feel small and overwhelmed, Jess was determined to find a way to get to the bottom of it. She just had to know the truth.

Jess deserved to know the facts anyway, right? There had to be more that Sam didn't want anyone, including she and Fitz, to know. All the signs were there. She wasn't giving the whole story; the youngest was sure of that at least.

She would try not to be too forward about it at first for her sibling's sake, but she _would have_ _answers_. There needed to be something to help ease her concern. It was a tough, dire situation that held Jess in the grips of panic at what she feared she would uncover next.

 _Damn, h_ _ow much worse could this get? What else is going to happen to make this already shitty situation even shittier? Not sure I'm ready to find out..._ Regardless _,t_ he best thing to do now was to distract herself from all of it. "So, what can I do to help?"

"I've only just started, but I wouldn't mind the opinion of someone who was there to help me be more accurate. Sehun and Jongdae were helpful, but I think hearing your side would be beneficial as well!" He was so cheery as he talked that jess couldn't help but smile and indulge in his enthusiasm.

"Ok great!" She explained too loudly as she jumped up out of her seat and began placing objects as she remembered them from the night before. Chanyeol was startled at first by her fervor. Soon after, however, he laughed and continued working, trying to following Jess's overeager lead.

Six hours had ticked by as Jess, Chanyeol, and Yixing - whom joined in their efforts about two hours in – all finished going over the details from beginning to end for what seemed like the tenth time. Yixing, upon request of their superiors, insisted that they had to be thorough. Luckily, all of the effort paid off, and from the information they currently had on the two suspects combined with the recant of the horrific events, they were able to come up with a few circumstantial theories.

Their first theory was based on a specific section of Agent Kim's report about the verbal exchange on the roof. In summary, it spoke of a highly, emotional, personal tension between the three agents in question: Grecko, Vodovos...and Sam. His report revealed that not only did Sam know them, but she was involved in some previous cover-up of a possibly heinous act of international treason. To top it all off, the U.S. and Czech governments may have spearheaded the whole thing.

And now as everything came back to bite the whole of humanity in the ass, Jess she was sitting in the command center of a South Korean version of the C.I.A. casually discussing her family's decent into ruin. Her stomach churned. And yet she was engrossed in every terrible assumption, every horrific revelation, because each sentence made her hungry to know more.

Unfortunately, both the Korean and United States governments were choosing, according to a memo sent to Chanyeol from Director Kim, to keep all the seemingly valuable information highly classified, most especially to her. This would not stand for long. Impeding on her search for answers would only result in conflict, and no one in that building had _even remotely_ seen her ANGRY thus far.

Director Kim and Fitz were keeping everything on the "Prague Report" - as the group coined it - under lock and key, claiming the bureaus needed more time in which to deliberate on what course of action they wanted to take with it. Then and _only then_ would they reveal anything to the rest of the team. Apparently it was just so classified of piece and that it gave them serious pause.

The furthered secrecy assured Jess that whatever was going on was something truly sinister. A cold chill darted down her spine and she felt slightly nauseous again. _Sam...what is going on? What in the fuck are you all mixed up in..?_

While they waited on their collective superiors to finish "deliberating," they had to come up with other trails to follow to keep the investigation moving forward. Jess made the effort to try and not show how much the sensitive subject matter was effecting her, nonchalantly brainstorming ideas like they were talking about nothing special at all. Regardless, neither Yixing nor Chanyeol seemed entirely comfortable. They never looked directly at Jess each time they said Sam's name.

The two men seemed to be pitying her – which actually made her feel worse. Jess didn't want them to feel sorry for her. They meant no harm, sure, but their sympathy meant that they really thought Sam was guilty of something monstrous. Jess _was not_ ready or willing to accept t _hat_ until she got the full story.

All she could do then was continue to pretend that it wasn't killing her by changing the subject. She had noticed during their study that there was a undeniable timing pattern with everything that transpired, right down to letting the siblings be involved in such an important and personal of a mission. And also without really fighting them on it.

Because of the secrecy with the "Prague Report," it was a definite possibility that someone in her government and maybe the Czech as well, orchestrated the whole affair. Of course an implication like that is pretty staggering. Jess instantly heard Fitz screaming in her head about how they would need more information to corroborate with such a damning accusation before pursuing it.

All three agreed to keep the topic open and also determined it was best to just focus on the last theory they had deduced. The helicopter the operatives escaped with was military-grade, Russian military to be exact. Considering Alina Vodovos was Russian-born and former KGB, it made sense.

Following up on their search on the helicopter, they found a partial news article on a stolen military copter, only accessible through a limited archive of web data willing shared by the Russian with the global conglomerate. The ruling body of Russia tried to destroy the story when it surfaced but had thankfully missed one piece of it.

"We can work with this." Chanyeol said cooly, placing a hand thoughtfully on his chin. "If we find out how to get ahold of the copter's tracking data, we can find out where it went. Look's like we're gonna have to nicely ask the Russians to share." He scowled a little, taking into account the reputation of the KGB in the international community.

"I'm sure the bureau can come to some sort of an understanding with the powers that be in Russia. It may be a difficult, but they are the U.S.'s allies after all, so they have to at least indulge us. Too much is at stake." Jess crossed her arms and leaned forward on the table. "We should inform Director Kim and Fitz about this as soon- "

"We must have lunch first!" Yixing expressed with excitement.

"Really though, hyung, we should probably let the Director-" Chanyeol began.

"You cannot think straight on an empty stomach! Come on, Chanyeol let's take a break. Please, I'm starving!" Yixing then proceeded to make a pouty puppy face at Jess, "Jess, you are hungry, right? Come on, grab some lunch with me."

Of course she couldn't withstand his charms. "Um...yeah sure...let's eat..."

"You see? We are both famished and would like to eat! So let's go!" He hopped up from the table and walked over to Jess, extending his elbow like a gentleman, "I would like to treat the lady on her first lunch break in South Korea."

After quick and careful consideration, she determined she would have to be absolutely nuts not to say yes. Since she had to "play nice" anyway, Jess thought maybe it would be good to be respectful and just let him pay for her lunch. _Normally I don't like to be coddled like this, but...he's being so nice and he's so cute I just... "_ Um, sure." Yixing beamed from ear to ear.

Jess gladly took Yixing's arm without hesitation. Chanyeol easily admitted defeat with a shrug and sigh, surely just as hungry, especially since they'd all skipped lunch. As she walked with the two men in the direction of the cafeteria, she saw the doors to the elevator open across the room, with a panicked-looking Sam speed-walking across the room.

Jess stopped in her tracks to watch where her eldest was headed. The other two did the same as a result, Chanyeol stumbling a little on his crutches. Sam only looked in their direction once, her pale face revealing something grave was in need of immediate attention.

Jess spoke to Yixing with an apologetic sense of urgency in her voice, "Sorry, would you excuse me for a moment? I'll catch up with you later!" And with that she let go of his arm and sprinted after her sister, not giving him and time to object.

Having barely caught up with Sam before she reached Director Kim's door Jess cried out, "Hey, wait a second!" The eldest looked at her youngest sibling as she rested her hand on the doorknob.

"Jess, I know you want me to, but I don't have any time to explain! I have to see the director and Fitz right away!" Sam turned her back to her sibling then, opening the door

 _Oh no, you **are not** keeping me out of the loop this time!_ The youngest scowled and rushed into the room behind her. Sam lwas glaring at Jess, about to protest when the voice of Director Kim interrupted their potential argument.

"Agents? Can we help you with something?" The director stood at his desk, a pile of manilla envelopes spread out all across it's surface. Explicit pictorial exhibits of piles of corpses and close-ups of rotting, skeletal faces stared into space. The disturbing imagery had Jess and Sam temporarily forgetting their anger, forcing them to only pay attention to the revolting and disturbing display.

Jess felt the need to vomit on the director's expensive-looking carpet, "What...what is this?"

Fitz instantaneously closed all of the envelopes. "Nothing that's any concern of yours at the moment, Special Agent. Now, tell us why you the two of you just decided to barge in here unannounced." The old handler scowled at the women, making the same face he always did when he was about to scold them like children.

Sam spoke first, "Director Kim, I apologize for the rude behavior, but I had to speak with both of you right away! My assistant and I discovered something troubling on the data drive that I felt you needed to hear. Two of your agents are in grave danger, sir."

Shock replaced outrage right away, the director next bombarding her with questions, "Which of my agents? What sort of danger exactly? What is this _proof_ that you've found?"

The eldest took a deep breath, "The initial files that we decrypted showed a list of the victims that were taken and also logs, everything from time to exact location on where to take others. This includes government agents, and I know only someone with top clearance or the means to obtain it could have gotten the access to the data on individual assets. Director, Agent Kim Jongdae and Mr. Oh Sehun are listed as the next targets." She exhaled. There was uncomfortable silence. 

Director Kim looked hard at Sam, "You claim there is a traitor among us?"

"Yes, sir. I do." She stated matter-of-factly.

Jess could hardly contain her terror as her brain processed every word, each syllable bringing with it more confusion and horror. Feeling ill-equipped to handle the events continuously spinning out of control around her, panic began rising in her gut at the possibility of Sehun becoming another victim.

All of her training in the academy could never have prepared her to have her family divided while the world teetered on the edge of war and ruin. How could it have honestly? The ridiculousness of last forty-eight hours seemed totally surreal, the stuff of movies not reality.

 _What in the holy fuck is even going on anymore!? Why is all of this happening..? This is...just...Oh please...don't let him be taken too..._

"My God," Fitz was sitting on the corner of the desk going over a clipboard of papers and post-it notes before Sam and Jess came bursting into the room, and now he slowly lowered it to his lap, thunderstruck. "What else did you find, Wilson?"

"The longitude and latitude of this facility is listed as the abduction point. We have little time to lose, Director! Where are Agent Kim and Mr. Oh?!" Sam inquired desperately.

 _Sehun..._

The director straightened his tie, trying not to appear worried for his colleagues, but Jess noticed the way his forehead creased and his eyes widened as Sam demanded to know their whereabouts. "I've sent Agent Kim on an errand and I haven't seen Mr. Oh since this morning. Agent Kim was retrieving paperwork for me from the mailroom on the basement level, but he hasn't been back for several hours."

 _This can't be actually be real..._

Massaing the bridge of his nose, "Honestly, I thought they were just being lazy or had gotten distracted. It happens on a fairly regular basis..." Director Kim lowered his hand, "They _must_ be found immediately."

The Director walked around his desk and pressed the page button on his office phone. "Director Kim, paging the front desk. Cynthia, are you there?"

The polite voice of the lobby desk clerk promptly answered, "Yes, of course, Director. How may I help you, sir?"

"Cynthia, I need you to give me the last known whereabouts of two agents: Kim Jongdae and Oh Sehun. Give me the timestamp data." He swallowed hard, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening.

"One moment, sir." An audible clack of keys could be heard followed by a few mouse clicks. Within a minute she had the information, "Director, Agent Kim clocked in this morning at zero-six hundred hours. And at approximately eleven hundred hours he clocked out, leaving a note at the desk saying he was taking his lunch break in the basement mail room. However, he never checked in with security downstairs, and there's no further data after that."

The Director let his head droop a little for a moment. Regaining his demeanor abruptly he then asked, "And Mr. Oh?"

"Mr. Oh clocked in this morning at zero-seven hundred hours, and has neither clocked out or checked in with any of the building security since. I'm sorry, Director, there is no addition information on his location."

Director Kim let out a grunt as he rubbed his nose again, "That will be all, Cynthia. Thank you."

"Of course, Director." With that he ended the call.

"So what do propose we do now? My associates and I are willing to assist you in whatever capacity we can, Director." Fitz was standing away from the desk now next to Sam who nodded in agreement, fiery determination burning in her eyes.

"It is most appreciated, Agent Fitz, but I think that building security is more than capable-"

 _ ***BOOM!***_

Director Kim braced himself against his desk as violent vibrations shook the ceiling and the walls around them. Sam and Jess where knocked off their feet and Fitz almost went to his knees but grabbed on to the desk to steady himself. The lights flickered as screams of panic could be heard from every direction throughout the complex.

"Is everyone alright?" Director Kim asked.

Fitz pushed himself up and rushed over to help the two women to their feet. Even with the animosity between them, Jess took his hand without thinking twice about it, too anxious about what was happening to care. _Jesus Christ, will this shit every stop? Oh fuck...what is going on?!_

"We're fine, Director," Fitz responded, looking to Sam to make sure and smiling slightly in relief as she confirmed his statement with a nod. He then had his eyes back on the director, "It seems the explosion came from above. Someone could have been trying to blow the hatch to get into the lobby."

"How could they have known where the hatch was located..." Director Kim stared down at the floor, his eyebrows knitted together with mixed anger and disbelief. He paused briefly before looking at the eldest sister, "You were right, Agent Wilson...There is a traitor among us."

 _No shit._

–

After a small amount of convincing, Director Kim assigned both Jess and Sam to small teams to search the building for the missing agents and the rogue operative. Sam insisted upon being part of the team to investigate the basement to look for Agent Kim, leaving the youngest to go with the team dispatched to secure the lobby and hopefully locate the elusive Mr. Oh. Although, without any leads on his whereabouts, it could prove to be quite difficult.

Sam and Fitz headed to the stairwell as Jess, Yixing, and Chanyeol filed one by one to the lobby. Director Kim chose to stay in central command to attempt to restore some order. Yixing was in the lead followed by Jess with Chanyeol hobbling behind in the rear. She secretly felt bad for him, but it turned out to be unnecessary, for he was just as determined as Yixing to help his friends. _Wow, they really care_ _ **a lot**_ _about each other..._

In the lobby there was nothing but dead silence. The secretary no longer occupied at her desk. All of the items from it littered the floor. Even her cup of coffee had spilled over onto her keyboard and her chair lay on it's side. Yixing, who sported a standard issue service pistol, lowered his weapon and walked around the desk to assess the damage.

"Where has Miss Cynthia gone?" He asked sadly.

"Maybe the explosion scared her. She _was_ the closet person to it." Chanyeol expertly balanced himself on one crutch while gripping his sidearm with his free hand. "We'll keep an eye out for her, but we have more important things to focus on right now."

Jess took no time to beeline for the wall next to the doors leading to the authorization chamber with Yixing going to the other side. Chanyeol went behind the desk to manually open the doors, his fingers nervously hovering over the switch before he pressed it. The reinforced doors slid open in seconds, the room rapidly filling with smoke and the heavy smell of charred metal.

Jess and Yixing coughed and hacked as they tried to back away from the thick cloud. After several tense minutes, the smoke began to dissipate and Jess could faintly make out a body lying face down on the floor. She and Yixing ran up to it, weapons at the ready, Jess's face filling with pure horror as she recognized the person straightaway: Sehun.

 _Oh god, no!_

She gasped audibly and sprinted to him, going down on her knees at his side. At first, she hesitated to touch him, afraid to find out that he was dead. Swallowing hard she flipped him over on his back, placing her head to his chest to check for a pulse. She could have just checked his wrist but somehow Jess thought she would feel more at ease if she could _hear_ his heart beating.

It was faint, but she heard it pumped slowly in his chest cavity. She shouted, overjoyed, "He's still alive!"

Frantically, she began giving him CPR, pushing hard down on his chest. Yixing got down on the floor to help her, "I'll pump and you try and blow air into his lungs. He must have inhaled too much smoke!"

A huge lump formed in her throat and she turned red at the image of her mouth on his. _Oh crap...Ok...ok, you can do this...YOU. CAN. DO. THIS...Holy fuck, you_ _ **have to**_ _do this..._

Taking only a second to admire his beautiful, still face, she pinched his nose and slowly brought her mouth down on his, blowing with all of her lung power. His plump lips were chapped and tasted like iron, but the feeling of them on hers was enough to make her head spin and her body melt. Jess concentrated with all of her strength on inflating his lungs, becoming more anxious each time their lips touched.

Chanyeol uneasily watched Yixing and Jess gave Sehun CPR for a solid fifteen minutes with no success. Stubbornly, Jess continued to try and resuscitate him, trying in vain several more times. She took in one last deep breath and blew as hard as she could. As the last bit of air escaped her lungs with what remained of her hope that he could be saved, Sehun's chest rose suddenly and his eyes shot open.

Jess immediately moved away from him, the smack of their lips separating sounding too much like a kiss. She covered her mouth, embarrassed as he sat up and choked violently. Yixing patted hSehun on the back and he wheezed. "Sehun, you're alight!"

Sehun coughed in response, making Chanyeol laugh. "You spoke too soon, hyung."

Yixing joined in with his laughter, but Jess remained quiet, her attention focused solely on Sehun. She observed him attempt to smile at his friends and then go into another fit of terrible hacking. Her heart sank to see him in pain. _Sehun..._ His eyes darted to her as if he could read her thoughts causing her breathing to hitch.

In a hoarse tone, "You...*cough..you...*cough cough" but he couldn't finish the sentence. His eyes bore into her, his face registering surprise and confusion.

"Relax, Jess helped me save you." Yixing explained.

"You *cough...you...*cough cough cough." Sehun's voice was certainly ragged, but his next words were genuinely full of gratitude. And so was his smile as he flirtatiously addressed her, "You...*cough...you _do_ care."

Jess gulped, filled with so much emotion in that instance that she ought not to be feeling that she thought she might burst. "No! It's just...well I was just..." _Goddammit..._

Sehun started chuckling, going into another round of hacking. Yixing patted his back again, "Sehun, what happened to you?"

"Well *cough...hyung, *cough cough...it's a long *cough...story."

–

Sehun laid it out for them plainly: The unassuming "Miss Cynthia" was a double agent. She'd been sent to collect more of their agency's assets, as well as obtain intelligence on every employee in the place. She had the perfect cover, giving her the means to gain the upper hand on all of them.

One thing bothered Jess though. If the abduction had been planned prior to yesterday's events, it had to mean that that the South Korean government had a higher stake in what was going on than they let on initially.

Resisting the urge to ask never crossed her mind, "Wait, _more_ of your agents? Are you saying something like this has happened before?" All three of the men were uncomfortably quiet then, making the answer clear.

"You see," Chanyeol explained, "others working for our agency have already been taken... or killed. Sehun, Jongdae, Yixing and I are the only field agents left working under Director Kim Junmyeon." He swallowed, "It would seem that they've outmaneuvered us once more."

"That's where you are mistaken, Chanyeol." All eyes in the group moved to look at Sehun, who shakily got to his feet like a newborn giraffe, stating. "We haven't been bested yet."

"What are you going on about?" Yixing asked, bewildered.

"I knew something was wrong this morning," Sehun straightened his clothes, which by observation were especially striking on him today. Jess decided the leather jacket and black skinny jean look really suited him, causing her to swoon. _Damn,_ a _nd I thought you looked good in a suit! This look though...argh! Stop being distracted! This is_ _ **serious!**_

"I noticed someone tailing my driver on the way in this morning. And something was off about Cynthia too. I couldn't say exactly what, but she was unusually cold to me this morning." Sehun ran a hand through his hair, "It occurred to me that I needed to tell someone, so I went to Junmyeom. However, our director was too preoccupied with a "very important phone call" to see me."

To clarify to Jess, Yixing added, "Director Kim is quite a busy man."

"So I left." Sehun went on, "And then I just happened to see Jongdae hanging around the vending machine in the lounge on my way to the lobby elevators. I told him what happened and he looked uneasy. He proceeded to tell me that he had also been followed that discerned that the agency may have been compromised and that we needed to come up with a plan to discretely discover the spy and take them out."

"So what was your plan?" Jess inquired, absolutely intrigued to hear more about his innovative way of thinking after witnessing his stroke of genius at the convention center.

"Glad you asked," He smirked, "Well, Jongdae went down to the lab were your sister was stationed to work and planted a virtually undetectable infiltration program to stream whatever data she uncovered to his tablet. He thought that some of it might prove useful in revealing the identity of the rogue agent or possible rogue _agents._ Jongdae went up a floor to file paperwork to cover his tracks, making it seem as though he was just doing some routine inspections of everyone's work stations."

"Very clever of you!" Yixing complimented, amazed.

Sehun continued, turning a little red, "Jongdae also wanted to check personnel records for clues, so he headed for level B5. I chose to do a little recon around the office until he could give me more intel, starting with Cynthia."

He kept going, telling them that during her lunch break, Cynthia had placed a call and had spoken tersely to the person on the other end. Being out of the norm for her personality, he waited for her to take a bathroom break before planting a bug on her phone.

Sure enough, she received another phone call, which she took in a corner that the surveillance cameras couldn't see or hear. There were the same short sentences in this conversation. She also mentioned something about "waiting for her to secure the door." In the attempt to stop her, he had been ambushed by a smoke bomb and sealed in the security gate.

Supposedly, this was a ruse she used to throw everyone into a stupor, while she made for B5 to get Jongdae. Upon capturing Jongdae, she would then double come back for Sehun. After she led the entire outlet on a wild goose chase, she would escape with the assets out the front fucking door. The rest of the group were wide-eyed as he finished his retelling.

"We've got to tell Director Kim about this," Chanyeol pointed out and then asking. "Did you two come up with an alternative if either of you were captured?"

Sehun cooly retorted, "Yes, we were supposed to signal each other in case we run into trouble. I couldn't while I was knocked-out, obviously, but I managed to send him a short distress before I lost consciousness."

"Then it seems as though we've still got a chance. Let's get everyone up to speed and then see if we can't lend a hand downstairs. Someone also needs to stay behind though and watch the exit." Jess suggested.

"Excellent idea," Sehun praised, and she smiled shyly, "I volunteer to stay. I'm too weak right now to keep up with you."

"Then I will stay too. I'm not really all that mobile on this thing," Chanyeol half-joked, begrudgingly holding up his crutch as he balance on the wall.

"Let's get moving then. I'll call them on the way." Jess and Yixing readied themselves and headed for the stairs. She allowed herself to take one last look at Sehun, whose veritable look of concern took her off guard when eyes met.

Not wanting to read too much into it, she concluded that she imagined _him_ mouthing the words "please be careful."


End file.
